Setting the Stage
As we grow older, there comes a time when we ask ourselves: “what should I be doing with my life?”, and we usually resolve this by telling ourselves we don’t have to worry about it, or give ourselves a vague non-answer, or, in the rarest of cases, we know exactly what we’re doing.
I’m in the first category. I’ve been putting off reflecting on the question. It’s not a question that has a definitive answer, but it is an important “guiding question” in our lives, and the only way to let it guide us is to give it some thought.
Perhaps the best place to start is to narrow down the question a bit, maybe the more specific it is, the more tangible the guidance. Considering how central my work is to my identity at the moment (well – that’s not what I want the focus of this essay to be), this is meant to be an exploration of activities in relation to life.
A Disclaimer
A craft doesn’t have to be related to work. It’s a pretty broad concept with a few limitations on what counts. I’ll get to those in a bit.
Craft, passion, and meaning. These three things, in this particular order, that’s what I’m looking for. The order matters insomuch as a craft is the only one of these that is tangible enough a concept for me to get started with concretely. The same logic goes for choosing passion before meaning.
Definitions are difficult, especially so with abstract ideas. I could take the time to research and collate various literature on the subject. I could, but I won’t. This isn’t meant to be a scholarly attempt at demystifying the human condition. Neither is it that I’m trying to be close minded. These are just the thoughts I’m attempting to solidify into words. Hopefully this might resonate with you, the reader, but if it doesn’t, well, that’s fine too.
The Concepts
Craft
A Craft is an activity in which one is actively engaged in creating something. An activity that requires a high degree of knowledge and skill to do well.
In gamer terms, it has a high skill ceiling, and a skill floor that isn’t literally on the floor. That is, it requires a degree of effort to get started.
Passion
When I think of Passion I think of:
- Desire, a longing, a need
- Enthusiasm, a degree of excitement
- Perseverance, a determination to keep going
Maybe I’m cheating a bit by defining one thing in terms of some other thing. But, in the spirit of being easily understood, it’s a great way to simplify and communicate an abstract idea, by defining it in terms of other (hopefully less abstract) abstract ideas.
Meaning
Fulfillment.
There’s a lot more going on with the discussion of “What is Meaning?”. But this is what I’ve always associated with it. Frankly, it doesn’t matter what anyone’s definition of meaning might be, as long as we can agree that it’s a good thing to have, and something that we’d like to strive for in the things we do (aka, our craft).
Putting the Pieces Together
An important concern to tackle is the idea of “developing” vs “discovering” your passion. Developing in the sense that, given time and effort you can develop a passion for what you are doing. Discovering in that we, as individuals, all have ‘predispositions’ towards certain activities, and that we can discover our passion by trying out different things.
The answer to this could play a rather key role in our search. After all, if you know, for certain, you can develop a passion given certain conditions, well, your choice of craft doesn’t matter as much no?
The answer isn’t straightforward, but it isn’t complicated either.
Both developing and discovering take time, I doubt anybody has any idea how much time that is. And… well life is too short to care about which it is. Simply give each craft you’re interested in a chance.
A Craft gives you your purpose. Passion helps you strive towards that purpose. Meaning… well, it makes that purpose worth something.
Getting Started
With this model of thinking, there’s really only one place to start. That is, pick a craft and give it a fair chance of you discovering your passion, or have it become your passion.
What does “fair” entail? I’d consider three things (disclaimer, estimations are not backed by any scientific research):
- Give it time. 20 hours is a good start. The idea here is that a craft usually has a bit of a learning curve. Spend too little time on it, and you may give it up before you even ’truly’ get started.
- Give it effort. Deliberate practice. It’s not fair if you aren’t focused.
- Do it consistently. 30 minutes to an hour a day is a lot more effective than 5 hours on the weekend. It’s partially about building a habit, but also retaining the mindset that this is something fun and not a ‘grind’ you have to get through.
If after some time you don’t feel those emotions that I attribute to passion. Move on. Find something else. Maybe come back to it later if you want to give it another go.
The only way you lose, is if you stop searching.