Sometimes six simple words can flip a script and change your entire point of view.

That’s what happened to me when I heard Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban on the Work Life podcast. 

Host, Adam Grant, asked Mark to share his best piece of advice. Without skipping a beat, he responded, “Follow your efforts, not your passion.”

As a self-proclaimed multi-passionate, I couldn’t help but pause and say EXCUSE ME? It’s easy to jump to the defensive, but let’s hear Marc and Adam out on this one.

Adam shared a simple question you can ask yourself to identify if you’re following your passions or your efforts:

Do you love the outcome or the process?

If it’s simply a passion, you’ll only enjoy the outcome. A pursuit is only worth the effort if you enjoy the process.

Adam also shared that psychologists have conducted studies which show that our interests tends to change and evolve, but purpose and meaning are likely to stand the test of time.

By that definition, finding and pursuing efforts that require a process you enjoy won’t simply point to your passions — it will reveal what really matters to you.

So my question for you (and myself) is this:

What paths are you following because you’ve defined them as passions? Reflect on the process. Do you enjoy it? – the highs, lows, challenges, and triumphs of it all? 

If the answer is yes –– kudos. You’re following your passions AND your efforts.

If the answer is no, consider what efforts you’re making that you don’t identify as passions. Perhaps somewhere in those processes is the deep sense of meaning you’ve been looking for.