I recently heard a man complain that his wife was venturing into a career path that he was not really in support of. “That might be what she is passionate about” someone interjected him.
“Who says I am passionate about my profession? But I have to do it because that is what adults do”.
We all laughed it off but it got me thinking. To the best of my knowledge, that man is a seasoned professional at the peak of his career. He has acquired all the certifications in his field and he leads a pretty comfortable life. I was taken aback when I heard him say he was not passionate about his profession.
I am perfectly aware that a time comes in life when the ideal will have to give way for reality and that the global economy gives little or no room for people to pursuit their passion as it were.
I think one of the biting realities that comes with growing up is the ability to do and excel at the available when the desirable is not within reach.
Speaking of career, a number of us have forayed into jobs that we daily complain about and dread resuming each work day. This misfit could be traced back to the point of admission into institution of higher learning when you were offered a course that was a night mare till you graduated.
It might also be because you failed to meet the required mark for the desired course, or you are among those that studied a course that you had little or no orientation about before entry. You were probably one of those that studied a ‘prestigious’ course because you were smart enough to anyway.
My husband happen to be one of those who spent 7 years (internship and NYSC) studying a course he could not stand practicing for more than nine months. Thank God he had the courage and capacity to move on to a divergent field that he is really cut out for. Something he spends a sizeable amount of his time doing and enjoys every shred of.
The gnawing truth is that not everything that we are passionate about is reachable.
Sometimes, we are far deep into a profession that we detest with every fibre but because the bills get paid through it, quitting is never an option. Putting the economic situation in perspective, the idea of plunging into a business which immediate yield is not certain numbs a number of people to take solace in the quote:
“When the desirable is not available, the available becomes the desirable” as you set out for work another day.
As you garner the fortitude to delve into the desirable while doing the available, you may want to silently but passionate mutter this;
“Dear Lord, help me not to waste my life doing that which is not in my destiny. Fit me into that which I am designed for and grant me the fortitude to do it”.