Use purpose to guide your career – Illustration: Getty
Why does purpose beat passion?
“Follow your passion” is the most common quote in career advice. But recent research by Harvard Business School professor Jon Jachimowicz confirms that’s a bad guide.
Through data collected from hundreds of employees, he found that those who believed that pursuing their passion meant pursuing what brought them joy were less successful. They tend to quit after 9 months.
The actual work is often very difficult, draining of energy and spirit, and even boring. Therefore, pursuing your passion can easily make you unhappy at work.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to take a big job to make a living. What you need to do is replace “purpose” with “passion” when you consider your career path.
Don’t ask questions like, “What makes me happy,” and “Follow my passion.” Instead, you need to know what you deeply care about.
By focusing on purpose, your work will correspond to the values you hold dear.
You also no longer dream that the long career ahead will only have sunny and happy days.
Goals make you strong enough to succeed
Jachimowicz realized, passion can’t have much impact on performance at work.
But a combination of passion and resilience yields better results. Resilience here can be the ability to hold on to goals despite adversity.
When you have a well-constructed purpose, you will be more stable and persistent on your career journey.
Purpose is a more accurate career guide than pure pleasure. Keep this in mind if you are starting a career or want to switch directions.