Why Passion Isn’t a Prerequisite for Growth

This morning, I was walking with my girlfriend and we ended up talking about a conversation she had the night before with a friend of hers. For context, she had someone over—let’s call her Mel—who was helping her learn to play music with more fluidity, creativity, and structure.

Mel is no amateur. She’s a seasoned, professional musician with her own fan base, a packed schedule of gigs, and even an album that’s won some local awards. She recently took my girlfriend under her wing as a mentor, and like most mentors and mentees do, they started opening up about their lives.

My girlfriend comes from a corporate background. A few years ago, she walked away from that world to pursue her passion for music full-time. Even during her corporate days, she’d always played music recreationally—music was in her, regardless of her job. Mel, on the other hand, has been a full-time musician since she was around 17. It’s the only career she’s ever known.

So why am I telling you this?

Because it was striking to me how the life skills each of these women developed shaped not only their careers but also their health and overall independence. My girlfriend, raised to work hard, get a good job, and secure her future, became fiercely independent. Along the way, she picked up a range of skills she never would have needed if she had followed a different path—skills like managing finances, planning, and, notably, cooking.

Mel, in contrast, focused entirely on mastering her craft and building a career in music. She succeeded, but that came with trade-offs. One of them is that she never learned to cook.

We all know that cooking is important for health—and maybe even enjoyable when you're feeding people you love. But let’s be honest: for many of us (myself included), chopping vegetables, seasoning meals, and doing dishes feels like a chore. It's far easier to pick up takeout or microwave something quick. And that convenience often seems worth it—until you realize the real trade-off isn’t just time or a few extra pounds. It’s your autonomy, your health, and your connection to the food you consume.

Back to the story—Mel doesn’t cook. Her lifestyle never allowed her to learn. Constantly bouncing from one gig to the next, her priority became speed and survival. So when my girlfriend cooked for her as a thank-you, Mel asked if she was passionate about food. My girlfriend said no—not even close. She only started cooking because she got bored of eating the same thing every day and wanted variety. If she wanted better food, she had to make it herself.

That stuck with me.

She didn’t learn to cook out of passion. She learned out of necessity and a desire to improve her life. And despite her skill, she still doesn’t love it—if we could afford a private chef, she’d happily pass the spatula.

But that’s the point.

We often think we need passion to pursue something, but we don’t. Sometimes, the motivation is just the discomfort of your current situation. The desire to not suffer any longer. You don’t need to love the process—you just need to want the result badly enough.

There are skills that, while inconvenient or unsexy to develop, could radically improve our lives. Things like resilience. Discipline. Patience. Cooking, even. You might not love the process—but the rewards will outweigh the pain.

So let this be your call to action:
Passion is optional. Progress is not.
You don’t have to love it. You just have to want something better.