In many self-help and career blogs, people wax lyrical about how you should not cease searching for your ‘passion’; that elusive cause that you would be happy to devote your life to… something that makes ‘work’ feel like ‘play’.
Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project, however, believes that asking yourself, “What’s my passion” may not be helpful.
A twenty-something guy […] asked whether he should stay in a job that, although the people and the work were interesting, and the pay was good, wasn’t his passion.
I’m paraphrasing, but in part Dan Pink answered, “I never ask myself ‘What’s my passion?’ That question is too huge. It’s not helpful.”
It can be hard to identify your “passion,” but you can identify what you did last Sunday afternoon. “Do what you do” is useful because it directs you to look at your behavior, rather than to your ideas – which can be a clearer guide to preferences.