Every now and then, I pull my attention away from the hallowed halls of academia and try to catch up on the happenings elsewhere in the world.
Who am I kidding? I’m something like a celebrity gossip and reality TV junkie in my spare time. Hey, there’s no shame in being well-rounded. At least this is what I tell myself to make myself OK with mindless entertainment. While taking a “blog break” away from conferencing this week, I happened upon this article on my alleged celebrity look-alike, Serena Williams.
Random fact about me: There was a time in my life when I would get stopped by people rather frequently and asked, “Has anyone ever told you you look like Serena Williams?” Hasn’t happened in awhile, but nevertheless, my ears always perk up whenever she’s in the news.
Now I’m no sports blogger. I don’t even watch tennis. And despite having an uncle whose profession includes teaching folks how to play tennis, I never learned. *hangs head in shame*
The most interesting part of this article was Serena’s admission that she didn’t LOVE tennis. At first, I was semi-shocked into silence. How can one of the most winningest (is this a real word?) tennis players in the world “not love” her sport? Does she mean like if she were to never play again – gasp – she wouldn’t miss it?
“Just Imagine What I’d Do If I Cared”
Self-congratulatory or not, the end quote of the article: “Just imagine what I’d do if I cared” is a very provocative statement. And poignant. I realized that Serena isn’t too far off from a lot of people who simply continue on in careers because they’re “good at it” and have no real passion for what they do. She was born and bred to be a competitor. She loves the chase. She loves to win.
Now the fact that she has ascended to the top of the sport without the love for it is a big effing point of significance. Think for a minute. What WOULD she accomplish if she cared? Does the thought blow your mind for even just a millisecond?
What Would You Do If You Cared?
It’s controversial to say, but there are some pretty successful people who are “The Man” in the workplace who can 100% relate to Serena’s sentiments. You’re good at what you do. No, you’re EXCELLENT at what you do. You’ve received all kinds of awards and accolades and recognitions and at the end of the day, you feel no passion for the work itself. How you spend your hours between 9 to 5 is little more than a means to an end.
Before they were “The Man” in the workplace, they may have been effortlessly at the top of their class. Getting the 4.0 GPA and voted “Most Likely to Succeed” and all that jazz. And so they stayed the course. Even with the nagging feeling of “I don’t love this.”
Maybe you feel like this now. You chose your major in college because you were good at it. Understanding came easily and A’s naturally followed. Now Graduation Day is steady looming and you’re considering what’s next. Sure, you could be successful if you stay the course – wildly successful, even – just far from “in love” with what you do for a living.
You’re at a crossroads in life and taking another path looks uncertain and fraught with the possibility of failure. If you can relate to how Serena feels about her career, just ask yourself: What WOULD you do if you cared? How many more significant accomplishments would you achieve? How much more satisfied would you be? How much more would you be able to contribute to the world?
