[shagie]

> ... so you won't give up easily if they become unexpectedly difficult.

Find the Hard Work You're Willing To Do http://www.cs.uni.edu/%7Ewallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2018... ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26209541 )

The final two paragraphs of the essay (from a university undergrad advisor in a CS department):

> Maybe this is what people mean when they tell us to "find our passion", but that phrase seems pretty abstract to me. Maybe instead we should encourage people to find the hard problems they like to work on. Which problems do you want to keep working on, even when they turn out to be harder than you expected? Which kinds of frustration do you enjoy, or at least are willing to endure while you figure things out? Answers to these very practical questions might help you find a place where you can build an interesting and rewarding life.

> I realize that "Find your passion" makes for a more compelling motivational poster than "What hard problems do you enjoy working on?" (and even that's a lot better than "What kind of pain are you willing to endure?"), but it might give some people a more realistic way to approach finding their life's work.