The Pain of Not Doing

I like to work with people who are intensely passionate about what they do. It does not matter what the field is. It could be nurturing kids, reading, writing poems, solving scientific problems, or coding a simple database service. What matters is the feeling inside, whether it is fire or love that comes from the heart. It is hard to reason and explain, but it can be understood from the depth of the inner being. It is the kind of passion that makes you forget food, water, and time.

Some people call them nerds, geeks, psycho or even cracked, but I see that as a badge of honor. To be so consumed that everything else fades away is a special feeling. And these passions do not have to be about changing the world in the Silicon Valley way of thinking. They simply bring joy and happiness to the person, something they would probably do even without money. Again, it is hard to put into words in a capitalistic world where everything seems to revolve around survival and livelihood.

I once met a man in his 60s who has spent four decades crafting wooden statues. His old home in the old square has become a living museum of sculptures and artwork. He studies scriptures, commissions manuscripts, and gathers artists to bring statues to life over months or even years. He is not wealthy, but he has given much of himself to this craft. Watching him, you realize passion can turn a lifetime into a single long project, and it makes you feel that everyone should strive for such deep longing in their own way.

Another was a painter who creates only a few traditional works a year. He spends weeks in his room working on his art. He says that he does not only do it for the money, because he sometimes gives a piece away for free. For him the act of painting itself is a blessing, and he feels grateful for what he has been doing all his life. There is something humbling about that.

I see the same spark in a colleague who makes digital games with interesting ideas. He follows an idea late into the night, not because he has to, but because he cannot let it go. I also have a friend who climbs rocks wherever he travels, always searching for a wall of stone. These may seem different, but in their eyes you see the same passion. It makes me think that passion leaves a mark in any field.

What ties all of these people together is not the craft itself, but the passion behind it. To reach that level, you need to pour yourself into the work until not doing it hurts. That is the true pain of not doing, and it is where the true self shines.