Research on 'affective forecasting' shows we are poor at predicting future happiness and even misremember past enjoyment, focusing on peaks and endings. Relying on intuition or imagining a job is an unreliable method for career planning; a more systematic, evidence-based approach is superior.
Don't search for a pre-existing passion. Instead, choose work that helps others, then dedicate yourself to becoming skilled at it. Passion and fulfillment emerge from developing competence and seeing the positive impact of your work, often in fields you never expected to love.
Job engagement and 'flow state' are not about working in a 'cool' industry. They arise from four structural factors: autonomy, clear tasks, variety, and feedback. Well-structured administrative work can be more engaging than poorly structured work in your supposed 'dream' industry.
A meta-analysis of over 100 studies found the correlation between interest-job fit and job satisfaction is only 0.19. This suggests that focusing on pre-existing interests is a poor strategy for finding fulfilling work, especially as passions are often concentrated in highly competitive, low-availability fields.
Counterintuitively, senior leaders often report less stress than their subordinates despite having more responsibility. This is because having control and agency over how to tackle demanding work transforms potential negative stress into a fulfilling challenge. A lack of control is more stressful than the demands themselves.
While higher income correlates with slightly higher life satisfaction, its effect on day-to-day positive mood flatlines entirely around $75,000 (in 2009 US dollars, adjusted for location). Chasing a higher salary beyond this point yields diminishing, or even zero, returns for emotional well-being and can increase stress.