BigThink: Passions aren’t fixed. You can develop them.

“We are often told to follow our passions when entering into the work world. It’s become a common bit of wisdom to do so. “If you love what you do”—they commonly say—” then you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” However, it’s often the case that this is much easier said than done.

On top of this, sometimes we may be cultivating a passion that isn’t right for us. Rather than branching out and developing new passions, we’re stuck with dead ends. Indeed, if you’re not careful, following your passion could lead you to be broke and frustrated.

In one of George Orwell’s earlier novels, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, his protagonist disavows working a well-paying job in advertising. Rather than subject himself to the system, he resigns himself to abject poverty working in a bookstore to follow his dream of writing poetry. Throughout the novel, he begins to see that his passion is holding him back as he obsesses over the ability to live beyond the grasp of what he calls the “money god.” Oscillating between disparaging the money-driven society he lives in and envying the power of riches, he begins to realize that he’s playing a losing game. Unconsciously, what he really wants is wealth, and by the end of the novel, he accepts that fact.

Orwell’s novel is illustrative of the idea that following your passions can sometimes be a limiting belief. That is to say, passions are not fixed, and by believing that they are, you restrict your capacity to grow into other areas of interest. It turns out that the idea of building your passion, rather than trying to find it, might be a better approach to life. A new Stanford study suggests just that. People are often told to find their passion as though passions and interests are pre-formed and must simply be discovered. This idea, however, has hidden motivational implications.

In one study, people who held a fixed theory were unlikely to pursue new developments in other areas of interest. In the event they do start something new, and encounter difficulty, they are prone to quit right then and there. Those with a growth interest mindset are more likely to follow through on a variety of interests. This is helpful for people who require interdisciplinary knowledge, which in our world is a sought-out commodity. It also frees you up to not be a slave to unfruitful passions.

It’s not all shade, though, when it comes to holding a fixed theory. It’s not a liability. The laser-like focus can even help deepen someone’s grasp of their individual interest or passion, which can, in turn, make them an expert in a field. Beyond the work sphere, however — when it comes to bucket lists — one should see how their mindset, the way they chase their passions, is affecting their goals in life.”

Read the whole article here

#Passions #Interests #Goals