Term 2 Assignment 4

Passion - The Road To Success? Or Just A Hobby?

Thinking about what you want to do for the rest of your life is a difficult and challenging process. When you begin to think about what you want to do in the future can you connect your passions with a future career?

In this lesson you will start to think about the concept of passion, and whether or not it is a good idea to follow your passion in career-life decisions with the help of looking at some different perspectives.

Have you ever heard the advice of "follow your passion" or "do what you love and you will never work a day in your life?" When learning about the balance between career and life, you will hear a lot about passions, but not everyone has a passion for the work they do.

Think of the following questions:

Should you be passionate about your work, and do you think that is necessary for work to be satisfying?
Do you know of anyone who is passionate about their work? Who are they and what makes them love their work?
Do you know anyone who is really not passionate about their work? Why?
How would you like to feel about your future work?

Consider this perspective: Passion is important, just not in the way you think.

But what if I love many things?

Passion is not the most important factor for job and life satisfaction in general. Money is not the most important thing either, but their is a relationship between using skills in high level jobs and satisfaction in your job.

Being able to help others also contributes to your job satisfaction.

You need to also do something you are good at. Matching your skills to your job will increase job satisfaction.

So what does this all mean?

It is not always the responsibility of a job or career that matters, in the sense one might say "I'm passionate about education," or "I'm passionate about art." It's the context of the role and your personal match to it.

Passions don't always help us to think objectively about our path in life. If you passion is making tons of money, chatting with friends online, or watching TV - chances are this won't translate into a career that is fulfilling long-term.

Passions can change.

Passions can and will change. Think of what you love now. Is this truly something you will be able to continue as a career in the future?

Think of Steve Jobs. Yes, he was successful, but think of all the stumbles he took on his way to success. We're not always good at predicting what we will be interested in or what sort of person we will be. So we should probably keep our options more open than we first think.

Think of the following advice for moving forward in career-life:

Focus on skill

Get good at something first, persevere at it, and you may end up enjoying it (or get a better idea of what you do enjoy.)

Cast your net wide

Build skills first, follow things that seem to map onto those skills, and keep your mind open to career which might not initially be that appealing. This will help you to develop interests in areas that are likely to be fulfilling, and to be able to respond to changing desires and priorities throughout life.

Work hard

Work comes ahead of passion, not after. See what passions develop as a result. You can make your passions: they're not just born in you.

ASSIGNMENT

Step 1:

Watch the following video and listen to the message about following your passion and its connection to a future career.

Mike Rowe is the host of the television show "Dirty Jobs" and "Somebody's Gotta Do It."

Also watch Steve Jobs' commencement speech to the 2005 graduating class of Stanford University.

Part 2: Assignment: Career Reflection on Passion

After watching both videos, students will respond to the following question:

“In your opinion, how important is following your passion when it comes to choosing a career?”

Students may present their response using one of the following formats:

Google Docs/ Google Slides/ Another teacher-approved presentation tool

Opinion Choices

Students may take one of the following positions:

Following your passion is important for job satisfaction
Following your passion is not important for job satisfaction
A balanced viewpoint (passion matters, but so do other factors such as skills, income, or opportunities)

There is no “right” answer—students are evaluated on reasoning and evidence.

Written Response Expectations

Paragraph Length

1–2 well-developed paragraphs (Approximately 150–250 words)

Ideas to help you organize your answer:

Share your perspective on how important it is to follow your passion when choosing a career.
Refer to at least one idea or example from each video.
Use specific examples (real-life, hypothetical, or personal experiences) to strengthen your point of view, etc.
Provide arguments to justify your opinion.

SUBMIT

Submit your completed assignment in your Flex block Google Classroom.

Due: February 2nd

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