"Crave recognition, influence, or dream of being the next Bezos or Musk? Suddenly you're a narcissist-or worse, a capitalist villain. Here's the truth: that story is motivational malarky, and the research shows that the passion narrative is unsustainable (Hoffman, 2025). Chasing passion as the only path to motivation doesn't inspire-it sets you up for frustration, anxiety, and bad decisions that you may not see coming."
"Let's be honest. Most jobs offer limited opportunities to satisfy intrinsic desires for curiosity or pure pleasure because the work is inherently mundane. Try turning screws for eight hours or entering data into spreadsheets and tell me about your "spontaneous feelings of effectance and enjoyment" (Ryan & Deci, 2017, p. 14). That's how the most popular research-supported motivation theory describes what happens when you demonstrate intrinsic motivation, which means that you only engage in a task for the sheer pleasure of accomplishment."
Intrinsic passion is neither supreme nor sustainable as a sole source of motivation. Many jobs offer limited opportunities for intrinsic satisfaction because tasks are mundane or repetitive. People commonly report minimal intrinsic motivation for much of their lives, and external rewards or incentives frequently make work tolerable. Motivation fluctuates over time, with initial curiosity or passion often shifting to failure-avoidance or boredom as tasks become difficult. Perceived control and autonomy matter more to the brain than the purity of motives. Self-generated rewards can help but should be used judiciously, and rigid self-labeling of motivation can be harmful.
Read at Psychology Today
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