find your passion--not!

​Urging people to find their passion may lead them to put all their eggs in one basket--and then drop the basket when it becomes difficult to carry.

Finding one’s passion isn’t without risks in a complex, fast-changing modern society. 

Testing 126 university students, researchers found that those embracing a fixed theory were more likely to disiplay a limited range of interests than those embracing a growth theory (a view according to which interests are not discovered, but developed).

The team selected participans who expressed interest either in “techy” or in “fuzzy” subjects (in math and science or in humanities, but not in both) and, after assessing their fixed / growth theory of interests, asked them to read two articles--one consistent and inconsistent with their interest.

Results showed that those endorsing a fixed theory of interests were less interested (by about -20%) in the mis-matching article than those endorsing a growth theory.

Interestingly, they were also less likely to anticipate future difficulties, and more likely to give up in the face of challenges.

Source: O’Keefe et alia (2018)