Myth: You need to feel passionate about every part of your work.

Truth: You don’t. It’s just not realistic.

The idea that you need intrinsic motivation to succeed is, quite simply, a myth. Yet we often feel like something is wrong with us when we don’t feel fired up about every task.

Here’s some relief: you don’t need to love every part of what you do to stay motivated.

I call it The Myth of Intrinsic Motivation.

Think about it this way. If the only path to success was through passion and intrinsic joy, who would ever clean the toilets? Exactly.

I have known many musicians who feel embarrassed to admit that they don’t always feel intrinsic joy in their performances. This leads them to question what kind of musician they are, whether they are worthy, whether something is wrong with them.

Nothing is wrong with them. There are aspects of every career and every pursuit that are not joyful. And yet we still find the motivation to do them.

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