Passion or practicality

Today, me and my best friend went out for a simple dinner to just do some catching up.

He faces a dilemma. In one hand, he weighs the option of his passion for entering the hotel management industry and on the other hand, he weighs the decision of signing on.

If you understand his current circumstances, it would be preferable if you chose practicality over passion.

That got me wondering. If life is all about following your passion, then what about those that straggle behind because of their life defiencies like finances and commitments?

I never had that question until now. The choice of choosing. Because many simply don't have the choice.

The idealist and the realist. The idealist wishes that everything is possible but the realist is someone who knows that what is the real possibility.

My advice to my pal was to be realistic. Because in every human being, we're an idealist. We wish for something to be true like World Peace or aliens live in harmony with us but in reality, we all know the lucridity in that.

When it all bogged down to making decisions, all of us get hit with the reality of making a difficult choice, and the choice that makes sense is often an un-idealistic one.

One analogy which my pal used was if all Singaporeans are realists, then we will never reach the world cup. That's because all of us would only think about protecting and earning our rice bowl.

I interved with another logic, if our government or some strange force of cultural phenomenon swept in and support "sports" in Singapore, maybe then, some of our citizens will be able to follow their passion and still survive in society.

To be realistic, in the world right now, there is a colony of mixed idealists and realists.

The idealists are some people who broke boundaries and established themselves. The realists are some people who recognize their present status and are happy the way they are.

I wonder, what is then life all about? Isn't it pursuing your ideals and passion?

I counter-argue with myself (my brain is pretty chaotic when I think), if everyone did follow their ideals and passion, then the whole world is full of chaos.

I question my passion. My passion to be in the advertising industry. Is it for love for the creative field or for the love of money? I'm telling you the truth when I say both but advertising practitioners knows how unlucrative it has been lately.

You might think I'm head over the heels over earning big bucks but ask anyone out there and who will deny money talks?

I have a passion. A passion for reality shows. Planning and strategizing the whole game layout, that seems like a dream job for me. But I know the reality of reality shows in Singapore is next to impossible, because the scene here is so dry like the Tuscan desert and the concept isn't that appealing.

Will I ever follow my passion? Or being a director of a great reality show or will I just make sense and cents of my life and follow the path of what is really meant to be?

That's a question that'll keep me thinking through my army years as I evaluated the options as my pal is doing now.

I wish him the best for his interview as only one can answer to himself will he follow passion or practicality.

Think tank,
Benjamin