Passion can be an energizing, fulfilling force, the stuff upon which businesses are built, works of art are created and Olympic medals are won. However, if you’re not careful, passion can become an equally destructive curse, leading to suffering and distress. Understanding how this happens — and how you can prevent it — is integral to mental well-being and living productively with passion.
We don’t celebrate stories of passion gone awry, but look closely and they’re all around. It usually goes something like this: You start an activity and develop a love for it, so you do it more often. Over time you improve and begin to experience positive results. You receive praise, recognition and rewards. Subtly, maybe without even realizing it, you start to become more passionate about the external validation you gain from doing the activity than the activity itself.
More here – The New York Times
