1 . “Find your passion!” is an appeal well-intended and meant to inspire. But is it good advice?

“Finding” a passion implies that it already exists and is simply waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately, this idea doesn’t square with what science tells us. Instead, passions are developed. They often begin with a spark (火花) of curiosity caused by something in one’s environment, such as a fascinating physics lecture. Through a process involving repeated engagement and-positive experiences, people can come to personally value that content or activity and internalize it. What was at first interesting becomes an interest. If these qualities continue to intensify, a passion can emerge.

Actually, assuming passion as inborn tend to cause people to be less open, less courageous in the face of challenges and less creative in pursuit of new interests. Thus, encouraging people to “find” their passion may cause them to eventually believe that interests and passions are unchangeable. People who think this have a fixed mindset of interest. By contrast, some people, whom we refer to as having a growth mindset of interest, view their interests and passions as developed.

People with a fixed mindset of interest, for example, may fall into the trap of thinking, “If I have already found my passion, why keep exploring?” In recent studies, after engaging in a new science task, arts students with a fixed mindset expressed less interest in a scientific topic than arts students with a growth mindset. Meanwhile, science students with a fixed mindset responded similarly to an art-related task. For those with a growth mindset, having a strong pre-existing interest in the arts or sciences did not get in the way of them viewing a new area as interesting.

Worse still, people with a fixed mindset of interest tend to expect their passions to provide limitless motivation, such that their favorite topics should never feel too difficult or demanding. Such a mindset can also limit creativity and innovation. If people believe they are restricted to only a few inborn interests and, in consequence, do not explore other areas, they may miss seeing important connections across different fields. That loss is especially unfortunate considering how leaders at innovative companies have long prized problem-solving that draw ideas from diverse disciplines.

Of course, not every activity will become a burning passion. But a growth mindset of interest will help you remain open and curious. The old saying “find something you love to do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” needs to be updated.

2 . I love my father. He’s the parent who I thought understood me. But when I was growing up, he was ______ home. He worked overtime as an accountant, late into the evening during the week, all day Saturday and most Sundays. Even if he was home, and wasn’t working at his desk, I had to ______ him, because I was one of three daughters. All those years in my childhood I longed for my father’s ______.

One day my father was working at his desk. I ______ him there and stood beside the desk. ______ in his writing, he didn’t notice me. To let him know I was there, I lifted my plastic water gun and shot him in the face. This frightened him and he roared like a tiger. I dashed out of the room and down the stairs. I was so _______ because I’d never seen him angry before.

Moments later, he appeared at the top of the stairs, ______ his arms and laughed; his arms and laugh invited me to run back up the stairs and into his huge hug. Comforting me softly, he ______ for scaring me. I kept replaying the _______ in my mind for a thousand times.

My sense that I couldn’t reach my father stayed with me even when I was grown. Well into adulthood, I felt that I could never ______ the father time I’d missed as a child. But it turned out that I could. And I did.

The ______ started when my father retired. One day, I called when my mother was out. My father answered the phone, and he couldn’t hand me over to my mother, ______ we started to talk. He told me he’d been thinking about his grandfather, and I asked about him. He began telling me. I ______ that when I asked him about his past, he stayed on the phone. And the older he got, the more ______   my father was to talk about his past, especially his childhood. In his detailed descriptions, I felt he was recreating the world of his childhood, and ______ me in. The stories he told became a world we inhabited together. He introduced me to the people he knew there, and to the child he was.

I really cherish my father’s stories and will pass them on to the next generation.

3 . A new study featuring researchers at Binghamton University found that viewing wealth and material possessions as a sign of success produces significantly better results to life satisfaction than viewing wealth and possessions as a sign of happiness.

“People simply say ‘money can’t buy you happiness’ and just assume that materialism has a negative influence on overall well-being,” said Jenny Jiao, assistant professor of marketing at Binghamton University School of Management. “But it’s not that simple. There is a real difference between success materialism and happiness materialism.”

Jiao and her fellow researchers surveyed over 7,500 German adults to get their findings. They first determined if participants had either a happiness materialistic or success materialistic mindset, and then asked questions regarding current satisfaction of life, expected satisfaction of life in the future and economic motivations.

What they found:

Happiness materialism (wealth and material consumption is the sign of a happy life) can negatively influence life satisfaction in two different ways:

 It can lead a person to be dissatisfied with their current standard of living, which in turn

negatively influences overall life satisfaction.

 It can lead a person to not find satisfaction from other important areas of life (family life, social life, health, etc.), which negatively influences overall life satisfaction.

Success materialism (wealth and material possessions are a sign of success in life) positively influences life satisfaction by boosting (助推) a person’s economic motivation. This can lead to a rise in their future satisfaction with their standard of living, which positively influences overall life satisfaction.

The researchers cross-checked their results with survey answers from other parts of the world, including the United States, to verify (证实) the universality of the findings. “Your happiness should never rely on money alone, but money can be a tool to motivate you to achieve major milestones in your life, which can make you feel happier in the long run,” said Jiao, adding that focusing on future goals is important in order to stay driven and motivated.

She also cautioned to forget about the other aspects of life that bring satisfaction. “Never lose sight of the other things that provide happiness that don’t necessarily have monetary (货币的) value. These include family, friends, your health, continual learning and new experiences,” she said.

One evening I was going back from a supermarket. As I approached my car, I noticed one person     1     seemed a bum (流浪汉) standing beside me. I expected that he would ask me     2     some money, so I asked him if he needed help and his response was “Don’t we all?” I have never heard words     3     (astonishing) than those. Although I had money and a place     4     (sleep) in, I recognized that I needed help too. It was a true discovery to me.

Managing Star Performers in High-Pressure Situations

It is generally accepted that success produces confidence, and confidence increases the ability to handle pressure. While success can indeed produce confidence, it can also increase multiply expectations and raise pressure to unhealthy levels over time.

Even the greatest performers feel pressure more than you might think. Researcher Geir Jordet studied 366 kicks from 37 penalty shootouts held at the world’s three largest soccer tournaments. His unusual finding was that superstars scored only 65% of the time vs. the 74% overall average. Even more striking, they scored far less than players who would later go on to win the same awards. These “future stars” scored 89% of the time. In short, players who have the skill but not yet the status (地位) that comes with winning a major award performed far better than those who had both the skill and status. Status, as it turns out, can be a burden.

Leading or coaching highly successful performers through a high-pressure event requires reducing the overwhelming (压倒性的) baggage that they may attach to failure. You can start to accomplish this by asking one key question: What are the things that are most important to you—that are essential to your being—and won’t change regardless of the outcome?

On May 26, 2021, outstanding tennis player Naomi Osaka announced on Twitter that due to her mental health, she would not do any press interviews at the French Open. The volume (量) of tasks and distractions that surround performance can dramatically increase pressure. And as success and status build, so does volume. The requests for Osaka’s time at the French Open in 2021 were vastly greater than they were in 2016 during her first Grand Slam event.

In response to the increase in volume, Osaka—like all of us—had two choices: accommodate more or remove the volume that was creating the most pressure. She chose the latter, which is exactly the right response to pressure that comes from volume.

Few of us will ever know the pressure of carrying the expectations of 300 million people into a physically and mentally demanding environment. But, through thoughtful conversations that aim to keep importance in viewpoint and simplify volume, we can help our own stars carry the burden of success a little more lightly.

7 . When I was ten, we moved to a new house across town. Mark, one of the_______boys, came over with his Star Wars action figures. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber lit up and he could swing his arms and say, in a tinny voice, “Use the Force!” I didn’t think the figure looked much like the real Obi-Wan at all. Together, we watched him repeat this performance five times on the coffee table.

“Can he do anything else?” I asked.

Mark was_______by my question. “Look at all the details,” he said.

I looked at the details. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say.

Mark was disappointed by my response. “Show me your toys.”

I didn’t have any toys_______my paper menagerie. I brought Laohu out from my bedroom. By then he was very worn, patched all over with tape and glue, evidence of the years of repairs Mo m and I had done on him. He was no longer as nimble (敏捷的)and _______as before. I carefully sat him down on the coffee table. I could hear the skittering steps of the other animals behind in the hallway, timidly peeking into the living room.

“Xiao laohu,” I said, and stopped. I switched to English.“This is Tiger.” Cautiously, Laohu strode up and purred at Mark, sniffing his hands.

Mark_______the Christmas-wrap pattern of Laohu’s skin. “That doesn’t look like a tiger at all. Your Mom makes toys for you from trash?”

I had never thought of Laohu as_______. But looking at him now, he was really just a piece of wrapping paper.

Mark pushed Obi-Wan's head again. The lightsaber flashed; he moved his arms up and down. “Use the Force!”

Laohu turned and pounced, knocking the plastic figure_______the table. It hit the floor and broke, and Obi-Wan’s head rolled under the couch.

“Rawwww,” Laohu laughed. I _______ him.

Mark punched me, hard. “This was very expensive! You can’t even find it in the stores now. It probably cost more than what your Dad paid for your Mom!”

I stumbled and fell to the floor. Laohu growled and leapt at Mark’s face.

Mark screamed, more out of fear and surprise than_______. Laohu was only made of paper, after all. Mark grabbed Laohu and his snarl was choked off as Mark crumpled him in his hand and tore him in half. He balled up the two pieces of paper and threw them at me. “Here’s your stupid cheap Chinese garbage.”

After Mark left, I spent a long time trying, without__________, to tape together the pieces, smooth out the paper, and follow the creases to refold Laohu. Slowly, the other animals came into the living room and gathered around us, me and the torn wrapping paper that used to be Laohu.