3 Reasons It’s So Hard to “Follow Your Passion”

3 Reasons It’s So Hard to “Follow Your Passion(ˈpaSHən)”

By Jon M. Jachimowicz

How many times have you been told to “follow your passion?” It’s a message that appears in everything from graduation(ˌgrajo͞oˈāSHən) speeches to job ads. We even say it ourselves. When I surveyed(sərˈvā) a recent(ˈrēsənt) class of Columbia(kəˈləmbēə) Business School MBA students, over 90% of them listed “pursuing(pərˈso͞o) their passion” as an important goal for their future jobs.

But according to a recent Deloitte(də) survey of 3,000 full-time U.S. workers, across job levels and industries, only 20% say they are truly passionate(ˈpaSH(ə)nət) about their work. Research that I and others have conducted show that many—if not most—of us don’t know how to pursue our passion, and thus we fail(fāl) to do so. How do we fix this conundrum(kəˈnəndrəm)? Research on passion suggests that we need to understand three key things: (1) passion is not something one finds, but rather, it is something to be developed; (2) it is challenging to pursue your passion, especially as it wanes(wān) over time; and (3) passion can also lead us astray(əˈstrā), and it is therefore important to recognize its limits.

Don’t Wait to Find Your Passion

One common misperception(ˌmispərˈsepSH(ə)n) people have about passion is that it is fixed: you either have passion for something or you don’t. The problem with this belief is that it’s limiting, leading us to think of passion as something we discover or happen upon. As a result, we may try many different jobs looking for the right “fit,” the role(rōl) that instantly flips the passion switch, and we may not take into account the fact that it often takes time to develop one’s passion for a job, along with the skills, confidence, and relationships that allow one to experience passion for work.

Indeed, research has shown that believing passion is fixed can make people less likely to explore new topics—potential new sources of passion. It also leads people to give up on new pursuits(pərˈso͞ot) more quickly if they seem difficult.

To better pursue your passion, challenge your assumption(əˈsəm(p)SHən) that passion is something to be discovered. Focus on actively developing a passion instead.

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https://hbr.org/2019/10/3-reasons-its-so-hard-to-follow-your-passion