Sadaf VidhaHave you ever felt that you cannot stick to one passion or interest? You are not alone. Many of us find ourselves really engaged with the idea of a particular interest, task or hobby, but soon, with changing times our passions too keep changing. We find ourselves moving on and then taking up something else with equal passion.
Why does this happen?
The reason why we cannot easily have long lasting passions is because of the way we have evolved. As we underwent evolution, we needed a brain that could pay attention to multiple things at once. While a mother cared for her baby, she could not lose sight of the fact that there may be predators around and she needed to constantly keep an ear out for any indicative sounds.
This tendency has stuck around to present day and so we have changing passions. Because of our survival instincts, we are almost always living in the future. This means that our tendency to stick to things in the present becomes less, especially once the novelty wears off.
Is it good to change passions?
The answer to this question is that it depends. If you have multiple passions at once and that is why you change passions, then that is called multipotentiality. A cooler term for that is Renaissance person. It got its name from Renaissance artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, who was good at multiple things at once.
If you are not able to stick to a passion even if it’s only a single passion, then we need to find out how soon do you quit. Typically, it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Do you find yourself being passionate enough for roughly 3 weeks? If you give up on the passion only after three weeks, that’s a good moving on. The reason is, you are going forward only after giving it your best.
However, another pitfall is to halfheartedly keep at something which clearly is not working for you. For instance, some people do not want to think of themselves as quitter, so they will keep going to guitar class, despite having no real growth or interest.
How to strike a balance?
The best way to strike a balance is to make yourself last at something for at least 3 weeks before you give it up. However, if after three weeks you have no motivation at all, then that’s a big clue to discontinue.
How can you make sure that you have picked up something that you will stick to for three weeks at least? Before purchasing expensive elements of that passion, find out technical information about it and see if you are interested. For music, you may try out the process of reading music notes or just strumming a friend’s guitar. Such activities can test your mettle before you take it up properly.
However, if it is truly not working out, then it is alright to change your passion. It is only by crossing out items on your list that you achieve your true passion.
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