It takes more than just passion to drive our talents and creativity

"Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion." Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (Philosopher, 1770-1831)

“I find that question very daunting: What’s your passion? I find that almost paralyzing, in a way.” Daniel Pink

“I became a writer the way other people become monks or nuns. I made a vow to writing, very young.” Elizabeth Gilbert

“Who is to say that passion alone can't eventually create high ability?” Scott Barry Kaufman

“Depth psychologist James Hillman described the presence of the daimon in creative lives.” Jane Piirto

“Objectively, my passion level moved with my success.” Scott Adams

"People with ADHD have at least one defective gene, the DRD2 gene that makes it difficult for neurons to respond to dopamine.” National Library of Medicine

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Does simply feeling passionate about something provide sufficient motivation to make use of our talents and creativity and be productive?

The elements of opportunity, experience, focus and persistence are also crucial for leading a fulfilling creative life.

And many people may find the advice to “Find your passion” to be useless or even fearful.

As author Daniel Pink once said, “I find that question very daunting: What’s your passion? I find that almost paralyzing, in a way. I find it less paralyzing to say, What are you interested in doing next?”

He responded to an interview question: So how do we turn our careers into our passions? :

“You know, I'm not a huge fan of the concept of "passion" when it comes to careers. Instead of trying to answer the daunting question of "What's your passion?" it's better simply to watch what you do when you've got time of your own and nobody's looking.

“That will give you the deepest insights into what you should be doing with your life. If people tap their strengths, and use them in the service of something larger than themselves, passion will take care of itself.”

From Your Start-Up Life: Dan Pink on Why "Passion" Doesn't Matter By Rana Florida, HuffPost.

His books include: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.

A potent driver of ability

The photo at top is from an article by humanistic psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, who says "the combination of preexisting ability and passion is better than either alone...But who is to say that passion alone can't eventually create high ability?"

He adds that "passion isn't always born from ability. Sometimes passion comes from other sources. For instance, many "talented" people have experienced harsh early life experiences that made them decide they were going to be great..."

He thinks this "special combination of passion and interest in a particular domain can be quite a potent driver of ability."

Research by Kimberley Robertson and her colleagues, he notes, "showed that preexisting abilities do have a strong effect on the likelihood of educational, occupational, and creative outcomes throughout life but independent of that, measures of educational-vocational interest and lifestyle preferences also had a significant effect."