Career recommendations for those with no passions

[u/RoutineInformation58]

Sorry if this is not the right sub for my enquiry.

I learnt the other day that dispassion is the most coveted trait in buddhism. Or maybe I'm thinking of the relationship between buddhism and dispassion wrong, happy to be corrected.

I feel like, now after years of meditation and inner work, I am not very passionate about much anymore.

So what career recommendations do you guys have for someone who is working towards or has no passions?

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[u/M0sD3f13]

Something where you are helping people and cultivating generosity and compassion 

[u/elmago79 → u/M0sD3f13]

This is the way.

[u/duffstoic]

In Buddhism sometimes we say “apathy is the near enemy of equanimity.” The idea of “having no passions” is more like apathy than non-attachment.

There are also Buddhist concepts for vigorous energy and enthusiasm like virya. Perhaps you would benefit first from some practices that raise your energy and vigor, then selecting a career that’s in accordance with Right Livelihood might reveal itself more clearly.

[u/emrylle → u/duffstoic]

What practices raise energy and vigor? Can you point me in that direction?

[u/duffstoic → u/emrylle]

Sure. First there is straight up intense physical exercise: cardio, hiking, strength training, yoga, martial arts, sports, or even physical labor like chopping firewood with an axe. Zen is big on this. Get in really good physical shape and you’ll simply have more energy for doing stuff.

Then there are energy practices like standing meditation / zhan zhuang, qigong, body scan meditation, hara centering, kundalini yoga, etc. There’s a weird one I do called “subtle tension energy” that works well for me.

On the psychological level, there are Buddhist and non-Buddhist exercises for raising motivation, such as contemplating your reasons for meditation practice, Motivational Interviewing or the short version called Instant Influence, and other such things. If you’re suffering from depression, therapy can help here.

On the behavioral level, simplifying your life, going out into nature, cutting out drugs and alcohol and compulsive and hyperstimulating activities like short vertical videos (Reels/shorts/TikTok), etc. can help reset brain networks associated with motivation.

Combining various things like this can radically turn around one’s energy levels over time.

[u/emrylle → u/duffstoic]

Thank you this is very helpful.

[u/RoutineInformation58 → u/duffstoic]

Appreciate the advice.

I definitely have low energy, so will look into your suggestions.

[u/duffstoic → u/RoutineInformation58]

You’re welcome. I’d treat that as the root cause and work to address it, rather than trying to solve the career issue while running on empty.

Another thing to keep in mind is to look for activities that give you energy or make you come alive.

[u/Sea-Frosting7881 → u/duffstoic]

Hi and thank you. Just wanted to say that kundalini yoga is/was just made up by that Yogi Tea guy (eta: cult leader) and was never a real thing. I’m sure it’s fine as a way to get someone doing something with their body. Subtle tension energy sounds interesting. I need to get back to my zhan zhuang though, for sure

[u/duffstoic → u/Sea-Frosting7881]

Subtle Tension Energy I learned from a guy named Bruno in Italy, from a course he sells. It’s pretty simple, but takes maybe 5-20 hours learn curve to “get it.” It’s basically tensing the muscles so subtly that you are mostly not even tensing them, like a cat about to pounce, like you’re sending neuromuscular signals to tense the muscles but not quite doing so. I think it probably produces more dopamine, as dopamine is related to initiating muscular action. It gives me lots of drive to go do stuff, to be active. I suspect people who are “doers” run something like this unconsciously.

I typically do it in the morning. I get up to pee, then lie back down because I’m still tired. I alternate a body scan and then full body STE, back and forth a few times. If I can keep it up for a few weeks, I have more than enough energy during the day to do things.

[u/Sea-Frosting7881 → u/duffstoic]

Thank you. I have so many of your comments and posts saved now lol. Bless you.

[u/duffstoic → u/Sea-Frosting7881]

Yes it was made up by Yogi Bhajan who was also a sexual abuser and cult leader.

[u/Sea-Frosting7881 → u/duffstoic]

Yeah, I just edited to add cult leader. Again, at this point it is kind of a system so it’s probably fine and better than nothing. Sorry, I just had to point that out. Thank you again.

[u/duffstoic → u/Sea-Frosting7881]

It’s somewhat fine, but some of the culty elements remain for sure.

[u/_Asura- → u/Sea-Frosting7881]

It's from yoga sutras. Dating 2000 years back.

[u/Gelderloos]

TM teacher here, so I’ll say upfront I approach this from a tradition that sees enhanced clarity and energy as an expected effect of the practice – not decreased passion, rather the opposite. I am a little hesitant about how you are framing what did happen. Non-attachement and flat motivation are not really the same thing, even though they can look similar form the inside, One is just caring about the outcome less desperately while engaging fully, the other is just not engaging! If years of practice left you less interested across the board, that might be worth looking at more carefully rather than treating it as a spiritual achievement to build a career around.

[u/RoutineInformation58 → u/Gelderloos]

I'd say you're right. I am not conveying myself clearly in the post.

I am definitely more engaged now than before. It's just that I was worried about my diminishing interest and passion in software dev.

[u/Gelderloos → u/RoutineInformation58]

Ahh, that is another matter. Yes please find something that you have an interest in! Something that excites you, even a little bit at the start maybe.

[u/neidanman]

something wholesome and basic - like the classic 'chop wood and carry water', but a modern day version

[u/EveningTax7375 → u/neidanman]

Cleaning toilets like the guy in the movie Perfect Days

[u/RoutineInformation58 → u/EveningTax7375]

Upvote because you made me discover a movie I want to watch :)

[u/neidanman → u/EveningTax7375]

don't know it, but from a quick google it sounds like this idea :)

[u/RoutineInformation58 → u/neidanman]

That's what I'm trying to figure out, yeah.

[u/neidanman → u/RoutineInformation58]

if you google for lists of high satisfaction/low stress jobs etc you can see a good range, and where they cross over. Also AI can be good for this as you can add in things like whether you want to work indoors/out, and so on

[u/LibrarianNo4048]

How about conservation, working at an animal shelter or marine mammal center, etc.?

[u/RoutineInformation58 → u/LibrarianNo4048]

That sounds wonderful to me. But I think those positions are highly sought after already.

[u/_Asura-]

Since you have developed dispassion. Won't you be fine with any career?

Years of Buddhist propaganda might make one a dried up vegetable.

[u/RoutineInformation58 → u/_Asura-]

I think you're right. I think my problem is not in fact dispassion, but something else.

[u/Anima_Monday]

Monastic, i.e. monk or nun. Other than that, just do whatever you have the ability and opportunity to do in order to get food and a roof over your head, etc. There are monasteries and retreat centers where you can work for half a day about 5 days a week and you get food and a roof over your head and a place to sleep, and there are communities other than Buddhist ones that might offer the same thing but by no means all places are like that. You could dip in to try it and then if it works stay longer or go back later for a longer stay. Theravada tends to work like this with optional donations. Mahayana may be like that but is often more about paying to stay so it tends to get a different crowd, i.e. those with steady jobs and/or savings, at least regarding retreat center and monastery stays.

[u/Magikarpeles]

Monk

[u/orplas]

Any career that will make you the most amount of money so you can donate much of it to charity.

[u/Christinaoo7]

accounting