Nolan O'Connor's e-Portfolio

I believe that comfort can be more of a curse than a blessing. It causes people to settle down too early, to lose passion, to stop exploring. While often perceived in an overwhelmingly positive way, comfort ultimately hinders people’s dreams and passions by duping them into believing they’ve attained their full potential. Comfort is too often mistaken for happiness.

 

One of the many pieces of wisdom my grandfather often preached was to “do what you love and let the money come second”. That seems like an easy bit of advice to follow, but the lure of comfort is surprisingly strong. Many pursue money rather than passion, leading to a stable yet ultimately unrewarding career, and this situation is a difficult one to leave.

 

Fortunately, my grandfather’s guidance did sink in for many members of my extended family, one of which is a cousin of mine named Kevin. After graduating college with an accounting degree and lucrative job prospects, Kevin decided to pursue a new venture: one that he was more passionate about. Instead of spending his days slouched in a desk chair gazing into a computer screen, Kevin decided to harness his passion for collecting and create his own business in which he sells vintage t-shirts among other types of apparel.

 

While his new career may not offer him the stability or the salary that an accounting job would, he doesn’t seem mind too much. In fact, he doesn’t regret his decision in any way. Just the other weekend he even mentioned to me that he goes to bed early on Sunday nights because he’s excited to get his week started. However he said before selling shirts, his Sundays were often filled with dread and anxiety coming from the thought of starting a new week full of dull assignments.

 

Taking a step back from the situation, this all really does make sense. Most people choose one career and stay with it for the majority of their lives, and a commitment of this magnitude should be carefully analyzed and thought out. That being said, selecting a career solely based on salary doesn’t seem overly logical. A career constitutes such an immense portion of one’s life that mistaking comfort for happiness could bear serious consequences. A “working for the weekends” mentality will inevitably catch up to anyone over a forty-year long career. Therefore, it is of upmost importance for one to discover his passion, or else he will be forced to resist the tempting lure of comfort.

 

My cousin Kevin took a massive risk. He forced himself out of his comfortable life and pursued his passion, a move that seemed daring, and to some maybe even a bit foolish, but it ultimately panned out. I respect and admire what he’s done because while it is not easy to distinguish comfort from happiness, it’s even harder to do something about it.