Build Passionate Expertise for Long-Term Happiness

Developing a skill for passion’s sake

As long as you’re driven by a love for what you’re doing, you’ll be happy doing it. Love for a thing equates to happiness. It’s self-justifying. The rewards you receive out of this innate enjoyment will always be enough.

I’ll use my own story as an example. When I was in high school, my best friend used to scoff at me for playing the piano. It wasn’t uncommon for me to practice a couple hours a day. He called it a useless skill. That being said, he didn’t play an instrument. So what did he know?

He meant this in the practical sense. It’s hard to make a career out of music. Possible, but challenging. So he was poking fun at impracticality. He was pointing out that this wasn’t a good part of a long-term career plan, and therefore could be seen as a waste of time.

But that was missing the point. I did it primarily not because I wanted to make money, but because I was passionate. I was greatly inspired by composers like Rachmaninoff, Chopin, and Beethoven, listening to their music and also trying to learn it on the piano. And I started to create my own music more and more.

People are going to be attracted to doing different things for their passions. Many times, it won’t align with their career path. But they should always make sure to have parts of life bringing them genuine happiness without the motivation for external rewards.

Even though I still haven’t made a career out of music, after nearly 30 years of dedication, I continue playing to this day. Because I love to play. It’s as simple as that.

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Look for something creative and unique to you

Is it possible to be passionate about something like watching TV or movies? Sure, why not? But this isn’t really ideal. And this isn’t what I’m talking about in the broader sense. Those activities as too passive.

Human beings are creative, on an instinctual level. We have an evolutionary and biological need to bring new forms into existence. The obvious case is bringing offspring into the world.

But that’s not all. Every work of art you see results from humanity’s drive to express and manifest themselves through creation. It’s the way we channel our life force. It’s the intersection of instinct, emotion, and intellect. It’s leaving a legacy. Making our mark, and connecting to our world.

And it’s in all of us. What we bring forth pays for itself — it doesn’t need something in return.

Music turned out to be one of my proudest skills. It brings me happiness. Not because I studied it for practical reasons — but because I was inspired to do it continuously, despite any promise for returns.

It makes me sad to think of what my life would be like without my music. Life without passion for passion’s sake.

Life would be boring.

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If you enjoy your practice, you’ll naturally become skilled

Make sure you’re having fun, but accept that you’re on the path of improvement. This is how people get really good at creative things over extended periods, while also staying passionate.

You’re creating and recreating yourself in the process of your craft.

This is true of every person who creates at peak levels, regardless of their relative skills. The less motivated the person is by money, the more of this phenomenon is present in their work. The more purity there is about their ability, and the more original their creations.

Thriving creative people are motivated less by money and markets, than by dedication to their craft and the creative act, which involves them in a feedback loop of bringing aesthetic quality into their and others’ lives.

When you’re not so worried about the supposed usefulness of what you’re doing, you’ll be able to truly explore and break through barriers. And you’ll tap into your instincts and natural talents rather than overthinking everything.

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The modern economic market for creativity

Let’s face it. In today’s world, the vast majority of advanced skills and expertise are sought out under the purpose of career advancement. At least that’s what society leans towards.

Career success is defined largely by income, and the bottom line is often making money. I’m not about to challenge the importance of resources. But making money directly from something and being uniquely talented at that something are not a necessary equation.

In other words, the thing you do for your career might not be the thing you’re best at and most passionate about. It could be several items down the list. And that would be totally fine.

The need to sell something, and the kinds of things that can be most easily sold, are largely the result of capitalism in the modern world. If you go back in history a little way, you’ll find that many renowned artists, thinkers, inventors, and so forth, were not quite as motivated by commerce.

Commerce didn’t exist then just as it does today. Markets are different now. I think the upshot of all this is that many contributions in some remarkably important cultural sectors, like art, music, film, and creativity in general, cannot always translate to financial compensation, even for highly skilled and passionate creators.

And so if we were only ever to do anything to make money, we’d never do these things. The progression of culture and civilization would be missing out. It would stagnate. We would stagnate as individuals, too.

It’s true that there aren’t great markets for creativity. There are opportunities, but they tend to be a bit small and sporadic. Yet creativity itself contributes massively to happiness, on an individual and cultural level.

Isn’t that what everyone is after anyway? So don’t neglect it. Keep it as a priority, even if you have to accept it won’t necessarily bring you financial rewards. Save some time and energy for your passions, if your job can’t fulfill them.

It’s conceivable that all the famous and active creative people you know are decent examples of this. They continued with their art, despite being abundantly rich or extremely poor. They weren’t really in it for the money.

They sought to recreate themselves, bring beauty into others’ lives, and strove for higher aesthetic achievement. They almost always went through experimental phases where they took risks through controversial art.

And that’s the process they were after the whole time. Although some were able to make a career at it, that can’t be true for everyone.

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Thank you for reading this story. James Gordon is a writer and musician. He has an MFA in Creative Writing. You can subscribe to his stories here, or sign up as a Medium member using the referral link below.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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