A new study from Stanford University and Yale-NUS College in Singapore has found that following advice to ‘find your passion’ may make it harder for people to discover what they love to do.
The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, says that the concept of ‘finding’ your passion implies that our interests are pre-determined, and once we realize what they are, we’ll be innately good at them.
However, the study found that people who subscribe to that line of thinking are more likely to quit new endeavors when they encounter setbacks.
The researchers said, instead, that passion is developed through investing into a new topic with an open mind and putting work into it.
A summary of the study by Quartz, posted on the Psychological Science website, said the researchers argue that the ‘pithy mantra “find your passion” may be a dangerous distraction.’
Researchers at Stanford University and Yale-NUS College in Singapore have published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says ‘find your passion’ may be a ‘dangerous distraction’; This stock image shows a woman trying to decide what book to read
This study approached its analysis through a comparison of people with ‘fixed’ mentalities about their interests and people who have ‘growth’ mentalities toward individual interests.
Those determined to have a ‘fixed’ mentality were individuals who believe interests remain constant, and those who were determined to have a ‘growth’ mentality were those who think interests can be cultivated over time, with effort.
The study seemed to imply that the ‘fixed’ mentality wasn’t accurate when it comes to realizing what we’re interested in, but noted that it could have positive effects.
‘The more limited range of interests that arises from a fixed theory is not in itself a liability and may, in some circumstances, reduce distraction as a person deepens pursuit of a topic,’ the study reads.
‘A fixed theory could, however, be disadvantageous when advances require interdisciplinary knowledge and the integration of ideas from diverse sources.
‘It could also become a liability if people fail to explore topics that could become strong interests or if, in the face of difficulty or setbacks, it leads people to question their commitment and lose interest in an area.
‘In these cases, the greater openness to new areas and greater resilience facilitated by a growth theory would be advantageous.’
A new study from Stanford University and Yale-NUS College in Singapore has found that following advice to ‘find your passion’ may make it harder for people to discover what they love to do
The study focused on undergraduate college students, conducting five experiments involving 470 participants.
‘They’re young and they’re at a time in their life when they’re being bombarded with the idea that you have to go out and find your passion,’ Paul O’Keefe, assistant professor of psychology at Yale-NUS College and lead author of the study, said.
‘They might be waiting for that trigger to happen,’ he said.
As an example, O’Keefe said they might be thinking, ‘Oh yeah, that’s my interest after all,’ rather than, ‘Maybe I’ll take this astronomy class, even though it looks hard.’
Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck (who is a co-author of the study) said of her undergraduate students:
‘At first, [they] get all starry-eyed about the idea of finding their passion, but over time they get far more excited about developing their passion and seeing it through.’
Dweck is also a pioneer in early research about “fixed” versus “growth” mentalities, related to intelligence.
Stanford psychologist Gregory M. Walton is also listed as a co-author on the study.