I just finished talking to my therapist about my chronic lack of motivation. It's not a trivial matter. My lack of motivation has led me to dark places where the only thing I have been motivated to do was attempt. Sorry for being bleak, but I just wanted to communicate this is an important topic to me.
So, back to the story. As I was talking to her about what my lack of motivation felt like, something slipped out that I think is important and I'm trying to get a handle on it. I told her that my current job was the result of pursuing my interests, not my passions. I didn't mean to word it that way, nor did I mean to say the two were different. But I could not deny I had just expressed something I felt to be true. Interests and passions are different, I think. First, do you agree? Second, how would you describe what an interest is and what a passion is? I'm still working through this, but I feel like a passion is something that sparks a light of motivation inside me, and an interest is something I find tremendously curious. I would characterise them as:
Passion is something that fulfills me. Passion is something that gives me purpose.
An interest is something that can hold my attention favourably for a prolong and profound period of time.
These are not the official definitions. These are want I think they are. Actually, let me look up the definitions....
According to Merriam-Webster:
A passion is defined as a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. (*)
An interest is defined as something that arouses special attention (*).
I'm wondering how these two things are different, because I think that when I'm engaged with them I am motivated. But as common as these two words are, as I look at them, I'm struggling to understand them or understand how they apply to my life.
Your thoughts are greatly welcome.
So, back to the story. As I was talking to her about what my lack of motivation felt like, something slipped out that I think is important and I'm trying to get a handle on it. I told her that my current job was the result of pursuing my interests, not my passions. I didn't mean to word it that way, nor did I mean to say the two were different. But I could not deny I had just expressed something I felt to be true. Interests and passions are different, I think. First, do you agree? Second, how would you describe what an interest is and what a passion is? I'm still working through this, but I feel like a passion is something that sparks a light of motivation inside me, and an interest is something I find tremendously curious. I would characterise them as:
Passion is something that fulfills me. Passion is something that gives me purpose.
An interest is something that can hold my attention favourably for a prolong and profound period of time.
These are not the official definitions. These are want I think they are. Actually, let me look up the definitions....
According to Merriam-Webster:
A passion is defined as a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. (*)
An interest is defined as something that arouses special attention (*).
I'm wondering how these two things are different, because I think that when I'm engaged with them I am motivated. But as common as these two words are, as I look at them, I'm struggling to understand them or understand how they apply to my life.
Your thoughts are greatly welcome.
