This could make for a great classroom discussion as it pertains to college majors and careers. Thought provoking piece in the Atlantic, "Find Your Passion is Awful Advice" takes a contrarian view on this common advice:

The term “Follow your passion” has increased ninefold in English books since 1990. “Find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” is another college-counseling standby of unknown provenance. But according to Dweck and others, that advice is steering people wrong.

The paper mentioned in the article distinguishes between a fixed and growth theory when it comes to interests:

In a paper that is forthcoming in Psychological Science, the authors delineate the difference between the two mind-sets. One is a “fixed theory of interests”—the idea that core interests are there from birth, just waiting to be discovered—and the other is a “growth theory,” the idea that interests are something anyone can cultivate over time.

Why is this bad advice?

“If passions are things found fully formed, and your job is to look around the world for your passion—it’s a crazy thought,” Walton told me. “It doesn’t reflect the way I or my students experience school, where you go to a class and have a lecture or a conversation, and you think, That’s interesting. It’s through a process of investment and development that you develop an abiding passion in a field.”

Another reason not to buy into the fixed theory is that it can cause people to give up too easily. If something becomes difficult, it’s easy to assume that it simply must not have been your passion, after all."

The neuroscience suggests that we can become interested in anything:

K. Ann Renninger, a professor at Swarthmore College who was not involved with the study, has researched the development of interests and said that “neuroscience has confirmed that interests can be supported to develop.” In other words, with the right help, most people can get interested in almost anything. 

So, perhaps instead of telling young people to "find your passion" perhaps we should be saying "develop your passion." 

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Questions:

• What were you passionate about when you were 8? Are you still passionate about it now? Why or why not?
• Do you have a fixed theory of interests (core interests there at birth) or growth theory of interests (interests can be cultivated over time)? Explain.
• Do you still believe that you should "follow your passion" after reading this article? 

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Did the two youngest Canadians to retire follow their passions? Listen to Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung on this NGPF Podcast and find out! 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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