

Why Your Passion for Work Could Ruin Your Career - orky56
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/08/why_your_passion_for_work_coul.html

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pyoung
I can relate to this on one level. I love my job and work crazy hours, but I
struggle with burnout regularly, and often need to disengage from work for
periods of time in order to recuperate. On the other hand, I am not sure I
agree with the 'harmonious passion' argument. I would argue that people with
'harmonious passion' are simply less passionate about their work than the
'obsessives', which allows them to 'turn off the switch' so to speak.

As a side note, it is probably fairly difficult if not impossible to
objectively measure passion, so I guess it is pretty pointless to debate any
of this in the first place.

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wisty
Also, they were studying nurses. Nurses have a greater need to "switch off",
and don't benefit a lot from thinking about work. I can see how nurses who are
crazy about work would go crazy.

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bignoggins
Not sure if I agree with this definition of passion. I've always considered
passion to be neutral. It's what drives you to do anything in life (make apps,
make war, make love). But how you channel that passion into doing something
either productive or unproductive is what matters.

But going with the article, startup founders definitely need at least a little
bit of what he calls "obsessive" passion.

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lchengify
Agreed. I think passion, even "obsessive" passion, is only a problem if it
impedes your ability to make rational decisions.

Cutting your losses, getting sleep, exercise, visiting other (physical) humans
... these things are important for mental health. Be passionate, just know
your limits, brush your teeth, and take a break every other weekend. You'll be
fine.

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Produce
To put it into Buddhist terms, obsessive passion is one where the subject is
attached to the result, or end goal, while harmonious passion is when the
person cares only about the process. A technique for transforming the former
into the latter is meditation.

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troutwine
Or flogging and self-torture if you're a Christian ascetic. More seriously,
there are thousands of years worth built-up knowledge with regard to humans
examining their desires and contriving methods of engaging them in a way which
leads, if not to happiness, then contentment. Much of that examination is
wrapped up in religion, but if you can pry it out or study a secular
philosophy of passion--say, Zen Buddhism--then there is much to be learned.

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Produce
Or isolation, starvation, psychedelic drugs, near death experiences and sex.
There are countless ways of achieving inner peace. Personally, I think that
even Buddhism is littered with dogma (any subject that people form groups
around tends to suffer from this). It would be nice to see a study comparing
the different techniques and ranking their usefulness for different
personality types.

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orky56
It's important to define the term, "passion." Most people associate emotions
with passion often with a negative connotation. This leads to lapses in logic
and reasoning.

That being said, passion is what drives people to hustle, do what's necessary
to accomplish something. It's that laser-guided focus that leaves distractions
aside. It's the curiosity that promotes hacking and figuring out what to do.

Lastly, it's the basis of the hunch. What Eric Ries mentions as the precursor
of data-driven decisions. Passion enables entrepreneurs and hackers to go the
extra mile and end up with disruptive innovation and new ideas. This often
results in improper consumption of sleep, resources, time, and money.

The goal is not to satisfy society and temporary obligations but rather to
create something that cannot be done in any other way, or at least not by
those who lack passion.

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mark_l_watson
I have occasionally been accused by previous bosses (and some customers after
I switched to consulting 12 years ago) of lacking drive or passion because I
tend to not work very many hours per week. I disagree since I am totally into
my work while I am doing it. I just don't do well working for 8 or 9 hours
straight, but I am happy when I do a few hours at a time sprints, with hours
off in between the sprints.

I believe that people as individuals just need to do careful thinking about
their activities. I know people who work for long periods of time, totally
focussed, and seem to really be happy. I know other people who don't seem to
like what they do for their careers, and I don't think that they find much
contentment from work except for appreciating their pay.

One thing that I think is very toxic in work environments is if people feel
inadequate in their jobs and work too hard to compensate. Double bad on
managers who try to use this.

Useful article.

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ansgri
What I don't like in such articles is that they never give a clue how one can
go from the bad category (obsessive passion) to the good (harmonious passion),
and whether it's ever possible.

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bugsy
I think you can go from one to the other. Start by leaving work at 5 after 8
hrs work each day, no matter what. Don't bring work home. Don't think about
work while at home. Don't carry a notebook around to work outside the office.

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flocial
There seems to be a lot of obsessive passionate types in middle management
though. I suppose they're hard to tell apart in the eyes of upper management.

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numeromancer
Fingunt simul et credunt: "They believe it, even while they are making it up."

This article will be a great aid to porcine ablutions.

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davmar
Can we block HBR? I have yet to see an article that isn't garbage.

Btw which passion do you think steve jobs has? Seems like it worked out for
him. Hmmmm.

