A Thought on Passion

Recently, I picked up a book that discusses the danger of what it calls the "Passion Hypothesis". It believes that the advice "Follow your passion", so rampant in recent years, can cause people to become less than they could be.

I'm not sure I entirely agree with the premise of the author. However, not having read the book in its entirety, I am not yet in a proper position to comment on it.

Suffice it to say that I believe that passion must be commensurate with skill. If you are passionate but lack the skill to make your passion appreciated or admired, you just have a hobby. Yet, if you are skilful without being passionate, you are not going to be very happy with what you are skilful at.

Those are my thoughts, however. The author believes that passions form when we get good at something - when we become skilful at it. Skill comes from long, useful practice.

Perhaps I will comment on this again when I have formed my own thoughts on the matter after I finish reading the book.

How I Overcame a Distracting Habit

I have found that one of the best places for me to do my writing and generally get work done is in the library. There are a variety of reasons for this. For one, I am taken from the distractions of my main computer at home, which I have associated in my mind with listening to music, endlessly surfing the internet, watching all sorts of videos on YouTube and gaming.

Knowing this of myself, I have dedicated my laptop to work. Now, whenever I turn it on, I actually do get work done. Perhaps it is my association with my devices that gets me into a particularly frame of mind, which brings me to believe that:

Thoughts lead to actions, actions to habits and habits back to thoughts.

As I carry out certain habits, the inherent thoughts behind them are repeated from when the habit first formed. It is my belief that this reinforces the habit and vice versa until it becomes so simple for me to just fall back on what I am already familiar with.

Now, when I turn my main computer on, I automatically open my web browser before anything else. After that, depending on the mood, I may put on some music or play a video or movie. It is done so fluently that I hardly even need to think about it. It has come to a point where, if the icon for the web browser has somehow moved, as it has done before, I click the exact same spot, accidentally opening a different program.

Instead of forcing a change in habit, I simply turn on my laptop, which I have habitually taught myself to use for work. Without the distractions of easily accessible distractions, I get much more done.

Another reason for using the library is that it allows me access to a vast cache of information in a format that I enjoy in an environment where I am comfortable but not so comfortable that I may decide to just take a nap and waste the day away.

I also read somewhere that having shoes on helps keep the brain active. I have no idea why this is but, perhaps, it is the association our brains have made since our childhood that we wear shoes when we are out studying/working and not when we are comfortably lounging at home.

So my advice on this:

1) Dedicate a space purely for work and another for recreation.

2) Dedicate a device for work if possible. Otherwise, create a user profile in your computer that only has access to the basic things you need to get work done.

3) Find a time when you are most productive. For me, I am a night person and am usually more productive in the evenings than in the mornings and afternoons.

4) Be just comfortable, not so much that you doze off.

5) Stay hydrated. Lack of water can make you sleepy.

Learning on a Trip

Having recently returned from a trip to Penang, I learned a few things.

1) Information, freely given, connects people

We were at a cafe when one of the owners, a well-travelled man himself, offered to help us familiarise ourselves with the immediate area. Using a map we brought along with us, he pinpointed places of interest that were not often advertised to tourists. With this help, our exploration became easier and I was intrigued to know that, apart from the cafe, he works as a teacher of languages - he is fluent in Thai, Chinese, Malay and English - and sometimes works as an emcee. We exchanged contacts and bid our farewells but he remains in mind because of his willingness to openly share and guide us.

As teachers, we should do the same thing. Our openness to our learners will allow them to connect with us even though what we share may not be immediately linked to the subject at hand. I learned a first-hand lesson in rapport-building, one that I intend to take to heart.

2) Plans sometimes go awry

Being there over the beginning of the new year, we planned to visit some landmarks and do a little shopping but we had not counted on so many places being closed for most of the time that we were there. It so happened that 2nd Jan was a Friday and many of the places decided to stay closed to enjoy the long weekend. Nevertheless, we made alternate plans and still had a fruitful trip. We may perhaps not have visited them if everything went according to the original plan and we may be less enriched because of it.

As teachers, we know the importance of lesson planning. It is, perhaps, almost criminal to step into a session without having first planned how it should go. That said, it is just as important to be flexible and quick on our feet. Plans don't always go according to, well, plan. At these times, we need a backup that may turn out just as well.

Why Teach?

On retrospect, this should probably have been the first post. Anyway, the question here is relevant to any teacher at any point in time: Why teach?

Why go through the pain of preparing sessions, the agony of putting up with disinterested learners, the repetition of grading assignments or the frustration of messing around with technological glitches and faulty equipment?

For me, it is the satisfaction of witnessing a learner learn.

It really is as simple as that.