The Benefits of Passion Finally Revealed
Whether you’re passionate about your job or your hobbies, your life can be filled with meaning and purpose. Without passion, you drift through life underachieving, reducing your self-worth, and feeling unfulfilled.
A passion for a job or hobby can be a social undertaking, a hobby or sports team, or a family matter. Passionate people are easy to spot, because they speak with certainty, have a confident tone and pacing, and show positive body language.
1. Harmonious passion
Harmonious passion is a way of living in which a person derives positive effects from engaging in a passionate activity, while also avoiding the negative effect that can be generated from excessive and obsessive passion.
It is a form of passion that is sustained over time and based on the self’s intrinsic tendencies.
Below are some of the benefits of pursuing a harmonious passion:
Harmonious passion is often correlated with a flow state, a state of heightened concentration and efficiency. People who experience HP remain flexible, mindful, and open, and their emotional responses tend to be more positive.
Similarly, HP is linked with better physical and psychological health, more satisfying relationships, and more positive emotions. This is important because the human body functions optimally when all systems are working in harmony. In other words, when we engage in a passion, we don’t experience conflict, and this is the best way to prevent ill-health.
The best way to foster harmony in your child is by providing autonomy and motivation. Encourage your child’s artistic and musical talents by giving them autonomy.
It is important to pause before asking a child, “Have you practiced your instrument today?” — Vallerand describes this question as the quickest way to kill a child’s harmonious passion.
Additionally, refrain from using words like “you’re better than me” and “your mother is a great singer” — these words are not only negative but also detrimental to their harmony.
Let’s look at a few of the more common types of passion and how to recognize them.
2. Obsessive passion
An obsessive passion is a behavior that is fueled by an intense interest in a particular activity. The passion may be driven by social acceptance, self-esteem, or some other factor.
In such a case, there is no sense of self-control and the obsession can lead to burnout, guilt, and even feelings of low self-worth.
In such cases, the individual becomes obsessed with the activity and is unable to control it, even though he or she enjoys it.
Studies have shown that positive emotions associated with a given activity are important for psychological wellbeing. In a well-balanced lifestyle, positive emotions are expected during activity engagement.
But in an obsessive passion, these feelings are negative and interfere with one’s ability to lead a balanced and fulfilling life. Therefore, it is important to identify the signs and symptoms of obsessive passion and take steps to overcome it.
An obsessive passion is closely linked with one’s identity and self. An obsessive person cannot regulate this excitement, and the intense sense of satisfaction derived from the activity is too powerful to be regulated.
The person feels compelled to engage in the activity. The opposite is true for people with harmonious passions. It is important to determine whether you’re experiencing an obsessive passion in your relationship.
3. Obsessive type of passion
Passion for something that is eudaimonic leads to higher levels of psychological well-being and is a sign of a harmonious state of mind.
However, the negative affect associated with obsessive passion persists for long periods of time and is a sign of psychological ill-being. The role of obsessive passion in maintaining psychological well-being has not been studied in much detail.
The definition of passion is an inclination towards an activity that identifies a person. Passions can become central features of the person’s identity as if they were a core aspect of their identity.
For example, someone who loves basketball might identify with the sport, whereas a person who loves songwriting might view themselves as a songwriter.
In either case, passion for a particular activity becomes obsessional.
In contrast, people who pursue a harmonious passion are generally happy with their careers and enjoy them. They often choose a career because it interests them, and do not let it interfere with the other important elements of their lives.
However, someone with an obsessive passion for a particular job does not have much control over the relationship between his or her work and other aspects of his or her life. Consequently, they tend to make their job central to their lives.
Although research has looked at the impact of passion on well-being, it has yet to be examined in what circumstances passion may operate. For example, individuals who are prone to neuroticism are likely to develop obsessive work passion, especially in entrepreneurial jobs where reputation and power are very important. This suggests that those with a neuroticism problem are more likely to develop obsessive passion than those with a harmonious passion.
4. Uncontrollable urge to engage in passionate activity
Behavioral engagement in a passionate activity is an urge to pursue a desired activity that one finds fulfilling and pleasurable. These urges are often in conflict with other aspects of a person’s life.
When an urge becomes insurmountable, the individual may experience extreme frustration and rumination about the activity. This pattern is often associated with reduced positive effective outcomes. The following are some ways in which the urge to pursue a passionate activity can interfere with the rest of one’s life.
The self-determination theory has been linked to the theory of passion. Passionary experiences have been linked to a person’s ability to internalize elements of their environment in an autonomous and controlled way.
According to DMP, two types of passion exist: obsessive and harmonious.
This distinction is useful for understanding the phenomenon. An uncontrollable urge to engage in passionate activity can be an indication of obsessive passion.
The effects of HP on participants’ passion were studied in a longitudinal study. Participants were divided into two groups: those who felt HP to be the highest and those who did not. The two groups were compared using Mplus 7 SEM analysis software.
Missing values were treated using FIML (full information maximum likelihood). The study also tested two main models: one for the effects of an intervention on passion constructs and one for the effect of the intervention on positive and negative affect.
5. Effects of passion on psychological well-being
The study examined how the presence of passion affects a person’s well-being. Those who pursue a passion in a harmonious way experience higher levels of positive emotions and flow.
In contrast, those who pursue an obsessive passion experience increased rumination and decreased flow. Passion for a cause is important, but it should be tempered by other factors such as the person’s trait self-control and happiness level.
In addition to preventing conflict, harmonious passion contributes to a person’s overall work satisfaction, and protects from burnout. In fact, the findings were replicated in a second study of Quebec nurses.
Harmonious passion also seems to protect against psychological ill-being, while obsessive passion contributes to it. Obsessive passion creates conflict between work and other facets of life, which can lead to depression and a host of other psychological issues.
The impact of passion on well-being is universal across all stages of adult life, and this has been confirmed by several recent studies. The authors used samples of participants aged 18 to 90 years to compare different ages and found that age had no interaction with passion.
Passion affects men and women equally and seems especially relevant in old age. This study is ongoing and deserves to be extended in order to provide further insight into this fascinating topic.
Conclusion
A harmonious passion is one that promotes psychological well-being by allowing people to engage in their favorite activities on a regular basis. Unlike obsessive passions, which promote negative affect, a harmonious passion encourages people to participate in their favorite activities over time.
The positive effects are often long-lasting. Signs of a harmonious passion include a positive effect after engaging in an activity, a feeling of fulfillment afterward, and a strong sense of community.
A harmonious passion is one that promotes psychological well-being and helps prevent ill-being. In contrast, an obsessive passion is one that makes people feel ill-educated and anxious.
It is also not related to life satisfaction, meaning, or vitality. It is best to recognize signs of a harmonious passion early in life. This way, it is easier to make changes in your life.
One of the most important signs of a harmonious passion is that a person can make a decision to not engage in the activity on a particular day. However, once the activity becomes an obsession, the person may opt to cut the relationship.
This flexibility is crucial in preventing burnout. In addition, people with a harmonious passion are more likely to engage in their favorite activities on a daily basis. Often, they can even be flexible enough to change their mind and engage in a different activity if the passion is causing them harm.
