The Struggles Of An Unambitious Youth

The auditorium is packed full of hungry people and flashing lights, setting the stage for the crime about to be committed. And soon, the victim arrives in the form of a radiant teenager, a rare enough sighting in such a social setting. The formalities are quickly dealt with, and the gun is out of the holster. “So what job/course are you planning to do?”, the shot is fired, point-blank and aimed straight at the chest. “I don’t know”, he watches helplessly as the bullet penetrates him. “You don’t know? What do you mean you don’t know?!” the cold-blooded killer fires another shot at his already dead victim. Yes, there’s a minimal to modest bit of exaggeration lurking here, but anyone who’s been through a similar situation (which is to say, damn near everyone) will agree that it is an apt description from a third-person view.

There is something really annoying about being pestered like this. The simple fact that not everyone is born with a deep passion for some work that they have never done, and most likely never even seen first-hand, seems incomprehensible for most people. This silly question and the perceived disbelief at the obvious answer does way more harm than the perpetrator could possibly imagine, piling pressure on the person to figure out a question to which there might not be an answer, and pushing them into a cycle of self-sabotage and undermining their self-esteem. I have way too many friends who are perpetually fussing over whether or not their life trajectory if left without a supreme goal would turn out to be a downward curving parabola, much like the one their lips form whenever this thought crosses their minds.

To those friends of ours who are always bragging about how they have a real goal (to which you nod fervently while trying not to gag), and who claim to know what the divine purpose that tethers their life to the universe is, we might be sorely tempted by the Tyler Durden inside to calmly reply “I am free in all the ways you aren’t”. It somehow misses the mark, however; the freedom does not embrace us as it should, but instead chokes and overwhelms us. So, it might be worth looking at what’s going on here and what we can do about it.

As humans, we’re all beings of passion. Since passion is a loosely defined word (it can mean different things to different people), we shall think of passion as one of the things that spur us into action. Thus, our childhood fascinations with being a pilot that made us pretend we were flying a plane, the awe inspired by a magnificent song that made us want to sing out loud, and the obsessive crush on the girl next door which made us want to show-off can all be seen as passions. Obviously, most of these are short-lived. But the ones that stick are deemed to be worth pursuing further, granted, of course, that they are considered 'socially acceptable'.

Often, however, passions can also leave us stranded. There are countless examples of people dropping out from their chosen professions or educational courses midway, despite starting on their paths with what they would undoubtedly label great passion. So the question becomes, why the obsession with it still? For one, having an achievable goal for the future lulls you into a false sense of security. For the theists among us, this can look similar to the allure that the belief in a higher power which watches over everything and pre-determines the future holds; the idea is that if your future is secure then so is your present.

The second reason is an interesting biological one. Human beings, like any other animal, has the primary aim of species propagation. We are hardwired to grow and nurture our own. In the modern world, although circumstances have changed substantially, the goal remains the same. To provide for the family it has become necessary to take up a job, which fuels our drive to find a suitable career. Also, the growth of our current educational model can also be mentioned as an influencer here, as it tends to prioritise ensuring economic security over knowledge or morals or whatever it is education is supposed to be about. “That’s all well and good”, you might reasonably think, “but do they have to be so pushy?” Unfortunately, yes. Putting pressure on the younger generation to act for the good of the species seems to be a favorite tactic of our race.

So, if you find yourself in this situation, what can you do? Well, you can find some comfort in the fact that there’s nothing inherently wrong with you. You’re free to explore the things you enjoy, and while you’re at it, why not consider whether they can be manufactured into a career, just for the elders’ sake. Also, if you’re feeling particularly rebellious, feel free to shout any of the arguments with which you are now armed at an unsuspecting relative or friend, for some unadulterated fun. But most importantly, if you can, try to be more self-aware and catch yourself when you are similarly forceful. This irritable brand of behaviour usually arises from a narrow-minded view of things, an inability to grasp any perspective other than your own. Although the issue of which I wrote is a minor one, it’s worth noting that the same narrow-mindedness, the thinking that one size fits all, is the root cause of racism, sexism, terrorism and pretty much every other 'isms' and phobias, none of which are minor issues. Truly, the world around us is only ever as vast as the eyes that we view it through.