I think we might not have a “true job” and a “true love”

I am currently reading So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport.

What’s great about this book is how it starts by debunking the passion hypothesis, that we have a magic job that’s been waiting for us to take. I came across these lines that struck a thought:

“I disagree. The more I studied the issue, the more I noticed that the passion hypothesis convinces people that somewhere there’s a magic “right” job waiting for them, and that if they find it, they’ll immediately recognize that this is the work they were meant to do.”

I was taken aback. Especially when I read about the research done by Amy Wrzesniewski, a professor of organizational behavior at Yale University. She found out as the college assistants had more experience, the more likely they were to love their work. It’s not their passion that decides how much they like the work, it’s their experience.

While I’m still early in this book, it made me rethink my previous thought about finding a good match between me and my work, which made me consider switching my workplace. I was very eager to switch my job/workplace in order to find a job that “suits my liking better”.

I might rethink my strategy the next time I make a decision to move. I think the time I spent in the work correlates to how much I like it. There might be no “true job” or “job that fits my passion 100%” that I should look for anyway.

Probably the same with the “true love” scenario. Probably a couple is never destined to be together. It’s how they attracted each other, persevered through the troubling times, and committed to take care of each other that made them stay as a couple.

Probably destiny does not exist. Maybe it’s the process that plays a big factor in the likability of something, with other variables playing a part too.