Explore

+ Finding a Project that You're PASSIONATE About

When choosing an innovative project area, it is important to focus on finding a passion that can be molded into a technology, product, process or solution. This will help motivate the team, and inspire creative ideas.

First, let’s define PASSION. Robert Vellarand is a psychologist who studies passion and how it can be used to motivate activity. Dr. Vallerand has defined passion to be a “strong inclination toward an activity.”

Where your passions lie

The ideal project should be enjoyable, important, and significant to YOU and others on the team. But, how do you know what you care enough about. to continue to input the necessary level of commitment? Look at your life. What types of posts do you commonly read? What types of social media accounts do you follow? What do you spend time watching on youtube? These will start leading you down paths of interest, but we recommend you do one or two of the Explore activities to help.

There are also logistical and overarching pieces to think about when trying to define your interests and passions.

Work on a project that aligns with your motivations and values

Your project should be related to the identity of the team and be both intrinsically and extrinsically motivating. Intrinsic motivation comes from the activity itself while extrinsic motivation arises from the results of the innovation. Various sources of motivation allow the project to continue if a form of motivation is lost. Intrinsically motivating projects produce their own source of positive emotions and are more likely to progress as long-term activities.

When looking for an enjoyable project, the team should focus on staying motivated. A significant amount of this will be available in the process of envisioning and executing on an idea, but be sure to identify other ways to stay motivated like learning new knowledge and skills, working with others, helping people and creating something that solves a problem.

When focusing on the importance of the project, each teammember should consider their value system. Try to brainstorm ideas centered on projects that identify your values and help you achieve them. For example, if you value learning skills, brainstorm projects outside your realm of expertise. Or, if you value assisting differently abled populations, contemplate ideas to ease the lives of those with special needs. If you are unsure what issues spark you to action, ask your friends and family members where your passions may lie.

Work on a project for which you have time

Introducing a new project into your life may be a large commitment, so it is important to analyze how much time you have available and how much time the project will feasibly require. This can help prevent a situation in which the project is abandoned before it is finished because it is in need of more energy than is available. The project should also be easily integrated into the life of the team members. Adding the project to a weekly routine will incorporate it as a consistent part of your life and therefore add it as a segment of your identity. This can then motivate your value system and further cement the project in your mind.

Overall, you are the only one that truly knows what your passions are. Sometimes, you have to try things and see how they fit to figure out whether it’s an interest or not. There is no shame in trying and realizing something is not for you. Try often, quit often; but ultimately, keep trying.

Sources:

Wignall, Nick. “How to Find a Side Project You're Passionate About According to Psychology.” Medium, The Startup, 7 Feb. 2018, medium.com/swlh/how-to-find-a-side-project-youre-passionate-about-according-to-psychology-97bd16588a55.