How do I decipher Passion vs. Talent?

If you are a talented writer and you dream of writing the great American novel and you spend a great deal of time thinking about what to write next, that your passion. If you can do it well but only tolerate that thought of doing this for rest of your life, don't bother with it. You don't want to spend your life getting up everyday, not wanting to go in to work and counting the minutes until you get off.

Of course, you can always do both. You could choose to be a writer while you are working on your "passion" career. Cover both your bases. But don't just settle . Never settle. If you fail, get back up, dust yourself off and start over. You will never be happy with a career you "tolerate".

Hi Samantha!

I have thought about this dilemma myself within my educational journey. I think it's all about a good balance. I love sports and would love to be a professional athlete if I could but I know I don't have the talent to do so. I earned my Bachelor's in Kinesiology (Exercise Science) because I knew I wanted to work with sports. I am good at connecting with people and staying organized, and received my Master's in Education. I decided to combine these two things, passion and talent, and pursue a career as an academic advisor in athletics. I have found a career in which I can use both my passion and my talent.

If you are a good writer, you could possibly look into journalism, but in a field you're passionate about. If you are writing about things that you are interested in, you are finding a way to combine your talent and passion. If you know something you are passionate about but may not be the best in that subject, you can work on it. Chances are, when you are passionate about something you will work harder to achieve it. If you work harder, you should become more knowledgable in that field. Therefore, something that starts out as just a passion, you can also become very educated in. Success isn't always measured by how good you are at something but can also be measured at how satisfied and pleased you are.

It’s an excellent question, but those things are actually quite different. Passion is a feeling, a love for something, a deep desire to immerse yourself in that something. Talent is not a feeling, but a skill, perhaps an inherent ability. It doesn’t have to be natural; I think some talent can be acquired, nurtured, practiced and mastered.

Talent is something someone else has to confirm and tell you about. Passion is something only you can determine for yourself.

It would be amazing if your talent and passion can be one and the same thing. Both can grow and evolve. But something tells me you already know where your talent lies, but you aren’t quite sure your passion lies in the same place.

All of it takes exploration and trial and error, going off in one direction and maybe turning around and taking the other path. Sometimes you won’t know unless you try it on for a bit. Learn as much as you can about the industry or craft or lifestyle. Not just whether you can do the job, but can you handle the annual salary? How about the long nights and deadlines? Who will you be surrounded by? What classes and schools will you go to?

Finally, don’t be afraid to go fully one direction to truly find out. You have your whole life to make a change. I’ve known a lawyer who have become a rapper and an actor who became an anasthesiologist! There’s no deadline or time limit for when you have to find out.

In my experience, the difference between talent and passion can be answered with two different kinds of questions.

1. Talent: How easy does this come to me? Do I have to work hard for it, or can I do this without a lot of effort? Is this activity natural for me?
2. Passion: Do I like this? Is this something I want to do? Do I find myself thinking about this often? When I dream about the future, do I see this as part of it?

If you can answers these questions, you can pretty much determine whether you're passionate or just talented.