Torrance Journal for Applied Creativity

pressures. Now adults have added a new
pressure that causes them to believe
that they must find a “perfect passion."
Research on motivation (Davis, Rimm,
& Siegle, 2011; Hostettler, 1989) finds
that achieving children and adults set
realistic expectations and those expectations
build their self-efficacy. Underachievers
set goals too high or too low,
both of which defeat motivation by
serving as excuses for avoiding effort.
There is a huge difference in the
way successful adults define and understand
passion in regard to their work
and the way in which imaginative and
emotional children understand passion.
The following statements are likely to be
shared by adults who realistically enjoy
their work:
• “I absolutely love my work 'sometimes!'”
• “I made excellent progress on my
project!”
• “My journal article was finally published!”
• “I’m making a difference and helping
people!”
• “I made a sale today!”
• “I’m helping to design a bridge to
alleviate traffic downtown!”
• “After many, many years of hard work and
rejection, my art has finally been accepted
into an art museum!”
• “My students’ science project won a
prize!”
Children, adolescents, and young adults
hear and interpret expectations of
passions very differently. Here are some
examples:
5th grade boy: “I’m hoping to be a professional
basketball player, but I won’t play on a team
because it’s too competitive.”
High school boy with good sense of humor:
“I’m going to be a stand-up comedian.”
Ninth-grade boy (with gaming addiction):
“I could become a reviewer of video games. I
know them all.”
Semi-musically talented guitar player: “I’m
following my passions and hope to become a
rock star.”
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Or in contrast:
Sixth-grade girl: "I’m just different — you can
tell by how I dress."
Seventh-grade boy: "Why doesn’t the teacher
teach us something we love; I don’t like math,
it's too boring."
Eighth-grade boy: "I plan to design video
games. I absolutely hate to write. I won't do
that homework. The teacher is not teaching
me right."
Teenage girl: "My parents expect me to be
perfect, the work is too hard."
College student: "College isn’t for me. I can’t
find my passion here."
College student: "My passion is to become
a writer, but I’m not signing up for a writing
course. It will destroy my personal style."
Parents and teachers also share
these messages with me in my clinic and
school about students they want to help
who are trying to discover their passions:
• “Our son goes from sport to sport, activity
to activity, but doesn’t persevere.”
• “My student doesn't seem interested in
anything.”
• “My student just wants to get by and do
the least he can.”
• “I can’t drag my son away from computer
games.”
• “My daughter won't take notes, but instead
draws. Her passion is art and I think
she should not have to take notes. I want
her to follow her passions.”
• “My son has good musical talent but
won’t take lessons. Instead, he thinks it's
important to just play for himself.”
The Sad Effect of Too High
Expectations
Young people who have internalized
too high expectations will feel
extraordinary anxiety or are at high risk
for depression, with some experiencing
both. Anxious children may habitually
avoid effort and competition. Examples
of such avoidance include the boy who
won’t even try to play on a basketball
team although he loves the sport; the
child identified as gifted who refuses to
be in the gifted program because she
doesn't think she is smart enough or the
writer who won’t take a writing course
because he fears criticism. Children who
go from one activity to another and quit
as soon as an activity becomes difficult
are searching for their passions, but they
equate passions with finding tasks easy
and fun. When they fear failure, they
discontinue the activity because they
no longer believe the activity is their
passion.
Examples of depressed children
include those who give up on joining
any activities or who refuse to do homework.
One very talented young woman
set her heart (and passion) on becoming
a solo violinist until she found her talent
was only sufficient to play in a symphony
orchestra, but not as a soloist. She
became so depressed that she could no
longer even listen to music although
music had been her passion during her
entire childhood.
Passions Should Be Tempered With
Reason
Some children feel passionate
about unrealistic dreams for their futures,
while others can’t seem to become
engaged in activities at all. The first are
at risk of depression; the second are
likely to become underachievers (Rimm,
2008) because they are so fearful of
making the effort.
For those young people who
are intensely involved in exclusive
activities that they hope will lead them
to a career, educators and parents can
help them to investigate opportunities
toward pursuing careers they may
feel passionate about. Acrostic REAL
(Figure 1) encourages students to be
strategic, emphasizes a growth mindset
(Dweck, 2006), and encourages realistic
expectations (see figures at the end of
this article).
For those students or children
who are already engaged in their passions
which will lead to careers that are
too competitive and likely go beyond
their talents, Figure 2 provides reasonable
strategies for dealing effectively
with their interests without destroying
all hope for their career directions. Only
a very small percentage will be success-