Following your passion is TERRIBLE career advice
Telling people to “follow their passion” is borderline irresponsible advice in 2025. Not everyone’s passion pays the bills and romanticizing the idea that doing what you love will magically lead to success sets people up for financial ruin and existential despair.
Oh, you love painting abstract watercolors?
Fantastic. But unless you’re connected, exceptionally lucky, or willing to live in a shoebox, that passion won’t cover rent in a world where AI is coming for creative jobs too. The truth is that most passions are hobbies and not careers. Actually caring about stability, even in a “soul-sucking” corporate job, lets you actually fund said hobbies and sleep without panic attacks about debt.
And before the “life’s too short to be miserable” people pop up.
Being broke is way more miserable.
Sacrificing short-term idealism for long-term security isn’t selling out. It’s growing up.
Passion follows mastery, not the other way around. Pick a skill the world values, get good at it, then let passion grow.
And also to the inevitable…
“But I followed my passion and succeeded!” replies
Congrats! You’re the exception, not the rule. This post is for the other 95%.
But maybe I’m wrong so change my mind.
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You are absolutely correct brother.....movies like 3 idiots are spreading this propaganda....It's all about money. If you can earn good money through a work, that work automatically becomes your Passion.....learn a skill to earn .
It’s not a propaganda, it has it’s own right intent especially for people who feel too stuck in their job and need the motivation to get out of it as long as they are fiscally responsible to take the risk.
3 idiots is fine.. what i took from that movie was to chase excellence, doesn't matter what you do and not just chase success. Now you may chase excellence in the work you do, at your job or anything that you are good at.
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My advise - if you have a passion, do it on the side. Let it be a source of side income. Completely ignoring your passions can be ignoring a big part of you. So, don't do that. It's possible to have a job that pays the bills etc and have a side project that may or may not pay. It's important to have balance and this is a part of that balance. How would you know you're part of the lucky ones if you don't try. If not, you only did something you like as a hobby and don't have any financial repercussions.
It's about playing smart. If you have the privilege to experiment with your career for a few years, and learn what works or what doesn't work for you, go for it. If you're not privileged enough, well then you'll have to do the grind and slog for a while till you get to a financially stable place. Then find your ikigai and take steps to move closer to it in your career. It's never black or white: soul sucking job or following your dreams/passion. Both can be balanced if you're smart and strategic about your career, and take a long term approach.
Live without regrets, Enjoy the path that life gave you. Try to embrace the new way in a positive approach.
All the best👍♥️.
14-16 ghante kaam kro, phir layoff ho lo. With absolutely nothing in hand
Either ensure that you have so much money that your kid can follow passion or do not have kids. This trauma stress will end with your generation of not following passion and working for paying rent etc etc
This 👏
Well to some extent i agree with you and to some extent i don't. You can have your hobbies as a side project and keep working on it with your full time job.
Nobody said you can't have 2 different sides to your life.
You are absolutely right. There is no requirement of changing your mind, you already clarified that this post is for the other 95%. I would say 98%. These filmy dialogues of following passion can ruin people's time, efforts and money. You tried to awaken them.
If you don't have any responsibilities on your shoulders and have a financially supporting parents then there's nothing wrong following your passion.
In Capitalism, it's just Demand and Supply, Passion can go to Hell