Maintaining a passion for an activity not only keeps you motivated, but also keeps you in a positive state of mind, a study reveals.
- The older we get, the less likely we are to find the motivation to achieve our goals, study finds
- The older we get, the less motivation we find to achieve our goals, study finds
- The ability to achieve one’s goals would decrease from the age of 50
When we get older, we can tend to “let go”. No longer wanting to go out or having the motivation to go about your usual activities or even your passions.
Keeping the flame of passion burning is essential to staying healthy and happy, according to a new study by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
This work, published in the journal New Ideas in Psychologyexamine the correlation between passion, grit and a positive state of mind in subjects aged 14 to 77 years.
“Our passion controls the direction of the arrow, what ignites us and what we want to achieve. Grit determines our strength, the effort we are willing to put in to achieve something”details Professor Hermundur Sigmundsson of NTNU’s Department of Psychology.
Passion, sacred fire
To study these links between passion, grit and positivity, the researchers recruited 917 participants divided into several age groups. According to them, “these correlations remain fairly similar from ages 14 to 53”.
What characterizes even the youngest, and especially the boys, is the correlation between passion and grit: when they are passionate about something, the youngest are ready to work hard to achieve it.
This correlation is also found in the other age categories. Thus, truly passionate people are willing to work harder to achieve their goal and in case of difficulties, they persevere.
Declining motivation with age
However, the study authors noted, this correlation decreases with age. From the age of fifty, a change occurs: the link between passion and grit then becomes almost non-existent. This means that from a certain age, one can be full of good intentions and be enthusiastic about doing something, but lose motivation when it comes time to do it.
Does this mean, then, that older people rarely stick to their cravings unless they find something that really interests them? That’s about it, says Professor Sigmundsson. According to him, people over 50 can be very passionate, but tend to have less guts. Or vice versa.
“That means it’s harder to muster our courage and willpower, even if we have the passion. Or we have the courage and the willpower, but we’re not as enthusiastic.”
The positive mind works the same way. From the age of 50, you can still be passionate, but have lost faith in your ability to achieve your goals. Or to think that one can manage the activity, but no longer have the inner flame for it.
Rekindle the flame
So what to do to prevent this? “You have to strive to find meaningful activities and interests that you can pursue with courage and willpower. It’s important to ignite the spark, regardless of age”says Professor Sigmundsson, who gives the example of an 85-year-old world champion skater who still trains on the ice. “The key is to stay in the activity you have chosen”he concludes.
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