Passion, Persistence, and Goal Pursuit.

What is it about?

Persistence is generally viewed a unitary construct measuring the extent to which people pursue a goal often in the face of adversity. Here, we propose two different forms of persistence, rigid and flexible, that take origins in different determinants and lead to different activity and life outcomes. Based on the Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand, 2015), we propose two types of persistence—flexible and rigid—that are specific to the activity that one is passionate about.

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Photo by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash

Photo by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Both types of persistence, rigid and flexible, yield positive outcomes within the realm of the activity. However, flexible persistence leads also to other life goals. Flexible persistence takes origins in harmonious passion for an activity and entails pursuing activity goals with an open and broad focus. It enables people to pursue the desired activity goals while experiencing positive activity outcomes and attaining other life outcomes. Rigid persistence takes roots primarily in obsessive passion and entails pursuing activity goals with a narrower focus that facilitates reaching some activity goals and outcomes. However, it prevents someone from achieving other goals and outcomes outside of the activity in one’s life.