14 Ways to Protect Your Passion from External Pressure and Expectations
Protecting your passion from external pressures and expectations is crucial for maintaining creativity and authenticity. This article presents expert-backed strategies to help you safeguard your interests and stay true to your vision. Discover practical techniques for establishing boundaries, setting clear principles, and defining success on your own terms.
- Build Consistency Despite Fading Passion
- Rediscover Joy Through Personal Practice
- Establish Boundaries to Reclaim Creativity
- Create Non-Negotiable Rules for Authenticity
- Set Clear Principles to Guide Decisions
- Reserve Time for Pure Enjoyment
- Define Success on Your Own Terms
- Align Work with Core Values
- Balance Client Needs with Creative Growth
- Safeguard Interests Like Valuable Assets
- Focus on Mission Over External Validation
- Measure Progress by Personal Standards
- Stay True to Long-Term Vision
- Reconnect with Original Motivations
Build Consistency Despite Fading Passion
As a professional artist, painting is both my passion and my part-time job. My full-time job is being a mother to three young kids! Over my eight years of parenting so far, I’ve experienced my passion for art fade and bounce back countless times.
My responsibilities as a mother mean I can only paint in small pockets of time and need to stop working completely over the school holidays. I can be really looking forward to starting a piece when I’m with the kids, and by the time a studio session rolls around, I’ve forgotten why I was so excited. It’s also difficult at times to use my own vision as a measuring stick for my art practice instead of the external expectations and validation of others.
But I keep showing up to my studio, even when I’m tired, uninspired, or feeling inadequate. Some of my best work has come out of sessions where I wasn’t feeling passionate initially – that developed through actually doing the work. So my advice is to build a habit of consistency. We can mistakenly believe that a feeling of passion is a prerequisite state for doing anything of significance. Unfortunately, feelings of passion are excellent for a short-term fix but terrible to rely on for anything you want to sustain. Progress thrives within the limits of plain old discipline and consistency.
So keep showing up, even when you aren’t into it at the start, even when you don’t feel “ready,” even when you don’t have all your ducks in a row. And just maybe by the end of the day, you’ll be having so much fun you don’t want to ever stop!
Rosanne Croucher
Artist, Rosanne Croucher Art
Rediscover Joy Through Personal Practice
When I was younger, learning the violin was tied to a lot of external pressure. It was all about exams, recitals, and an intense focus on getting every single note perfect. I remember my main thought wasn’t about the music itself, but about the fear of making a mistake in front of other people. The goal was just to avoid messing up.
That pressure slowly chipped away at my love for it. The violin started to feel more like a source of anxiety than a source of joy.
The passion only came back years later, when I picked up the violin again just for myself, with no performance or exam attached. I started learning popular songs I actually listened to, just for the fun of it. When I could play something I recognized from the radio, the joy returned almost instantly.
That’s when it clicked. I realized other adults must feel the same way; they want to learn but are held back by the memory of that same pressure or the fear of not being good enough. That’s why I started Violinspiration. I wanted to create the exact opposite of my early experience: a place to learn music that’s purely for your own enjoyment, without any judgment.
So, to answer your first question, the external pressure made my passion fade by making it about performance and perfection.
My advice to others about protecting their authentic interests is to keep their passion personal. It’s about protecting that private relationship with the activity. Find a space where you can be a beginner without feeling judged or watched. Don’t worry about whether you are “good enough” for an audience. If you only practice something when you feel external pressure to perform, you’ll lose the reason why you loved it in the first place.
Julia Temeer
Founder, Violinspiration
Establish Boundaries to Reclaim Creativity
When I first began in the holiday-let space, I was weighed down by the outside expectations that owners had of me delivering the same revenue performance as their neighbor, regardless of the location or condition of the property. Guests expected their accommodation to look aesthetic and Instagram-perfect, while friends and family questioned why I left a nicely paid, stable career path in banks to pursue something that is pretty unpredictable. I was trying to meet everyone’s expectations simultaneously, and in all that, I lost connection to that innate passion of just creating spaces. The pleasure of taking a worn-down cottage and putting it back together with a new mindset started to disappear, as each decision I made was filtered through whether someone else would think I got it right, or if the outcome would be worth the time to provide some sort of profitability.
What ultimately restored that passion for creating spaces was establishing some super-clear boundaries. I made a conscious choice not to compare every project to another or ask if it would be accepted by someone else. I started regarding each home as its own unique canvas. I’d associate the owner’s goals, think about its history or what experience I wanted guests to remember, and then proceed from there. This was personally a big game-changer in reclaiming some creativity and giving “me” permission to enjoy it again. My advice is to always keep checking in with the choices you are making to see whether they represent the original reasons for starting. To really protect your best interests, you need to draw some firm lines as appropriate to avoid that outside, added pressure.
Marta Pawlik
Creative Director, Interior Designer, Co-Founder & Director, Laik
Create Non-Negotiable Rules for Authenticity
The biggest pressure I faced wasn’t from partners, but from the market itself. The beauty industry constantly pushes new fads and miracle ingredients. The temptation to chase what’s popular instead of what’s right is immense, and it’s the fastest way to burn out and lose the reason you started in the first place. That pressure didn’t make my passion fade. It forced me to build a fortress around it. My advice is to translate your authentic interests into a set of hard, operational rules. Don’t just have a mission statement. Create a list of non-negotiables that guide every decision. For us, one rule is that every ingredient must be backed by published science. When a trendy but unproven ingredient comes up, there’s no debate. The system makes the decision, not my emotions. This protects my energy and ensures the business grows without compromising the soul of our work.
Nikki Kay Chase
Owner, Era Organics
Set Clear Principles to Guide Decisions
When I began to shape my endeavors around the expectations of others instead of my own personal aspirations, I felt that external pressures started to sap my enthusiasm for design. In some past experiences, I had moments where funds or partners compelled me to generate growth at all costs. This meant growth faster than the infrastructure could provide support or seeking revenues in areas that directly contradicted the vision or goals of the organization. In those moments, I did not feel as if I was building something I believed in – rather, I was just chasing an opportunity for someone else. The initial rush and excitement I felt for a project in those earlier days mostly turned to fatigue because I was no longer in the driver’s seat.
What I learned from that period of exploration is that protecting your authentic passions starts with setting hard boundaries early. For me, this meant determining what projects I was interested in, what compromises I was willing to make, and what I was not willing to bend on. I encourage everyone to write those principles out so you can hear them above the loud outside voices. If you are clear of purpose for why you began and have a shared understanding of what constitutes the made work and creative aspects, then it will become easier to say “no” to distractions that take you off the chosen path. Protecting passions is not so much about avoiding external pressures as it is about keeping the compass pointed in the right direction while everything else becomes a cacophony.
Todd Stephenson
Co-Founder, Roof Quotes
Reserve Time for Pure Enjoyment
I was fueled by the same joy I’d had since I was a kid watching my dad run his fertilization business. There’s something deeply satisfying about taking a patchy, tired lawn and turning it into a lush, green space where families actually want to spend time. But once I opened my doors, the outside pressure hit fast. People constantly compared me to my father’s decades of success, and customers expected nothing short of perfection. Before long, I realized I was working to meet everyone else’s standards instead of enjoying the craft I loved.
If I could give one piece of advice about protecting your passion, it’s this: keep part of it for yourself. For me, that’s a quiet morning once a week where I mow a small yard alone, no schedule, no audience – just me and the grass. When you hold onto the part that makes you happy, your work stays meaningful, your customers feel it, and the results speak louder than any outside expectation.
Frank Sturm
CEO, Green Ace Lawn Care
Define Success on Your Own Terms
The aspect I was most acutely aware of during my career transition into plumbing was external expectation. People assumed I would merely be serving a temporary role until I could return to aviation, or that I was there solely to assist William and not building a business around my own vision. The constant pressure to prove my worth as a woman in an environment dominated by men was draining. It caused me to question whether I was following my passion or simply trying to meet everyone else’s expectations. Eventually, this pressure slowly stripped away the excitement that had initially brought me here, because every small win or measure of success became more about meeting someone else’s approval than celebrating my own achievements.
What rekindled my passion was taking a step back and creating my own definition of success. I began to disregard external voices in defining how I would conduct the business, instead focusing on the values that were important to me in this transition, such as transparency, care for my customers, and building a great team. My advice is to maintain a clear picture of why you were initially drawn to your work and anchor your decisions around that. It’s easy to forget this when everyone has their own agenda, but if you measure incremental progress based on your own standards, it becomes more difficult to let your passion fade as quickly when faced with external pressure.
Emily Demirdonder
Director of Operations & Marketing, Proximity Plumbing
Align Work with Core Values
At the beginning of my career, I was losing track of my passion for the gaming and community aspects as I was overwhelmed by the pressure to gain profits and compete in the industry. This pressure began to distract me from what initially motivated me, namely, providing the best possible experience to gamers and the gaming community at large. It got to a point where I was too caught up in the technicalities of scaling the business, finances, and market demands, and I had little time to explore my creative interests.
My awakening moment was when I noticed that I had lost all the fun I had playing games, meeting people, and helping them enjoy the experience. I started to understand that my love for creating community-based experiences would have to be defended, even under outside pressure. As a means to safeguard my genuine interests, I actively tried to put the objectives of our company in harmony with the values that initially attracted me to the gaming industry: building relationships and giving people a place to share their experiences.
The advice that I can give to people is to regularly remind yourself about the main reasons why you chose your passion. You can easily lose focus because of the expectations of others, but keeping to what first made you want to do something can aid in keeping the passion and meaning in your job. Make sure that you are spending time and energy on the aspects of your work that you love and do not allow external pressures to characterize your progress.
Hone John Tito
Co-Founder, Game Host Bros
Balance Client Needs with Creative Growth
Because of external pressure to keep every client happy and meet expectations without a single misstep, I feared that I would disappoint people if I pushed ideas that were less conventional. I lost much of the creative energy that made my work so fun to begin with at that time. I ended up with safe and predictable projects that I knew would get a green light, but they neither challenged me nor brought a feeling of satisfaction. Gradually, the work turned into just avoiding being criticized more than creating something that I would be proud of.
I protected my passion later by setting clear boundaries with clients about what I will and will not compromise on. I began to make two proposals, with the first one perfectly fitting the brief and the second one either bringing new ideas to the table or improving efficiencies. It allowed clients a choice and at the same time, it allowed me to offer something I believed in. I also allowed myself some time each month to work on a project that was totally development and testing oriented, whether it turned a profit or not. That room to develop new techniques restored the fun to my job and has reminded me why I got into the business in the first place.
Daniel Vasilevski
Director/Owner, Pro Electrical
Safeguard Interests Like Valuable Assets
External expectations often steered me in directions entirely unrelated to my original interests. Early in my career, I evaluated success in terms of promotions, titles, and compensation. These are important, but following these gold stars often meant I compromised my curiosity, the love of solving interesting problems, and arguably the core driver of why I was doing this type of work at all. I often took on projects which would look good to others, but were chipping away at my energy over time. Eventually, I began to see that trying to achieve everyone’s measures of success would take away significantly more motivation than long hours or difficult technical issues could.
My strong suggestion is to treat your own interests as you would treat an asset by closely guarding them. Create intentional boundaries around any of your interests. If you find amusement in any portion of your work, create safeguards for that time and do not let others encroach upon it. Passion can bear a great deal of strain, but only when we rely upon that which we find energizing – and not what is merely interesting to others.
Yad Senapathy
Founder & CEO, Project Management Training Institute (PMTI)
Focus on Mission Over External Validation
External pressures can quickly turn your passion into something stressful. The moment you start caring about what others think, whether it be your peers, your followers, or what you believe is accepted by society, it tends to take the fun out of the things you love. I had a very similar experience while building Birchbury. At some points in developing the footwear brand, I forgot why I was doing it in the first place because I was so focused on growth, approval, and gaining validation to keep me going. The external pressures turned my passion into a chore, rather than something I truly enjoyed doing.
To maintain your authentic interests, focus on what you are passionate about and create a boundary so that external opinions do not dominate your decisions. Seek communities that align with your values and prioritize progress over external rewards. Stay committed to your mission and regularly reflect on why you started. That focus will keep you anchored and will help you persist despite external pressure.
Matthew Tran
Engineer and Founder, Birchbury
Measure Progress by Personal Standards
Due to external comparisons with competitors, I was nearly losing my enthusiasm to build Service First Plumbing. I was constantly comparing myself to others in the industry, which stripped me of the pride I would have had in what I was creating. I would get frustrated that someone had more trucks on the road or more ads in the market instead of being happy with the growth I had made. That stress began to burn me out, and I wondered why I was doing this in the first place.
What saved my interest was turning it all back to my own standards. I set measurable objectives that were consistent with my beliefs, such as customer satisfaction scores, employee retention rates, and the quality of service we offered. I cheered my teammates for the little victories and kept in mind that being consistent is more powerful than comparing myself to others. When I ceased to be influenced by outside voices and their definitions of success, my passion came back even stronger.
Steven Bahbah
Managing Director, Service First Plumbing
Stay True to Long-Term Vision
The demand to expand faster in the IT asset disposition industry has at times challenged my interest. The pressure of the need to grow fast and to obtain quick money may even eliminate the more righteous and long-term strategy that I want to be responsible for. At such times, one is tempted to lose touch with the true goals of achieving responsible recycling and safe data destruction.
I guess what I have learned is that I have never stopped being myself and staying on course with my values of protecting data, being transparent, and sustainable. The tips I can give to other people bearing this pressure would be to remember what the cause was that encouraged you to start.
It is purposeful, not speedy growth. By drawing the line between your personal values and your business choices, you will be sure not to lose your enthusiasm. Take time to think long-term and on the larger picture even as the temptation to take shortcuts is too great. That is what keeps you on the path to sanity and often focused on what is really important.
Gene Genin
CEO, OEM Source
Reconnect with Original Motivations
There was a time in the early part of my career when I felt my passion was slipping because I was too focused on meeting everyone else’s expectations. I was trying to fit into other people’s definition of success, and it drained me severely. Later on, I realized I was spending more time chasing approval than doing my best to work hard and help people, which was my real goal in the first place.
The best advice I can give others is to stay connected to the original goal you started with. Make more time to improve your skills and do the things that motivate you to work hard. Listen to feedback, but don’t let it drown out your own voice. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind.
Blaz Korosec
CEO, Medical Director Co.
