I enjoy seeing and working with people who are passionate about what they do. Their passion and the enthusiasm it creates is contagious.
Passion can be a twin-edged sword however when it’s allowed to overflow into emotional outbursts. You should never use your passion as an excuse for losing control of your emotions. I’ve often heard people apologize by saying, “sorry I got upset and yelled, it’s just that I’m passionate about this.” When passion becomes an excuse it loses its power to make things happen.
But overall, I love passion. When people are passionate about what they do it shows in how they do it. Passionate people are the ones who make a positive difference in the lives of other people. It’s by making that difference that they make the world a better place too.
Passion comes from knowing. Do not expect people to be passionate about the things they know little or nothing about.
That little piece of advice in the last sentence helps keep me from being overly frustrated when working with people who don’t give a darn about their work, their company, their customers or their coworkers.
They have never invested the time required to develop the empathy that comes from knowing other points of view. They have empathy for what they know and they only know themselves.
While it’s frustrating to work with people who don’t care, especially when you do, you can’t make the mistake of allowing their lack of passion to suck the passion out of you.
You will need to “re-dream your dream” from time to time. Consider where your passion originally came from and revisit that place often.
Never lose your passion for what you do and the positive affect it has on people. Remember that when the positive passion goes out the door your positive attitude won’t be far behind.
Steve, your passions shows itself twice a week. Thank you for your passion and enthusiasm.
Thank you sir!
Steve,
Passion is amazing in its power to motivate through challenges. I was recently listening to an interview with Lee Cockrell, the former VP at Disney World and he talked about how excellence is a state of mind because you have to be prepared to be disappointed and push through to get better. Without passion, the ability to push through those disappointments is going to be severely diminished.
That being said, I think the gem here is where you talk about how you cannot expect people to be passionate about things they do not know about or do not care about. This shows when you call a call center and you talk to people who are not passionate about what they do, creating a positive customer experience, or really even doing their job well. Having this point as a frame of reference certainly helps one be far less frustrated with some of those less-than-stellar experiences that can arise.
Anyway, keep up the good work, Steve!
Cheers,
Brandon
Thanks Brandon, I remember being talked into shopping the day after Thanksgiving one year, Black Friday. We were in a long long line at a checkout in a large department store. The line we got into turned out to be the slowest one of all of them. When I finally got to the point where I could see the cashier I discovered why. This had to be the slowest moving human being on the planet. I was so frustrated that I had to say something so when my wife and I were finally being checked out I asked the young lady if she could possibly move any faster. Her answer provided me with a lesson on perspective… she said what’s the point? She said that she was going to be there until 3:00pm whether she moved fast or slow and since slow was easier for her slow it was. ZERO passion for the customer but it made perfect sense for her…you can be frustrated with that but when you understood her perspective it was hard to be mad.
In other words, most people lack passion for things they haven’t invested the time or effort to understand? This includes their occupation/career as well?
Speaking from only my experience, working at a job that isn’t fulfilling, has no self satisfaction, and low wages – has been a negative experience. I struggled meeting the physical requirements on a daily basis, which exacerbated symptoms of pre existing behavioral health problems.
I needed the paycheck in order to maintain a place of residence and afford food stuffs.
I wasn’t successfully living a healthy/passionate life, after holding the position for two months; resulted in a brief hospitalization. I resigned upon being discharged, Unfortunately lost my room as a result of that decision.
Self discipline and motivation only go so far. Dedication, yes, but passion for my work/life I had none at all.
I must begin thinking outside the box about generating an income.
Productivity – learning, knowledge; experience gained via networking/interaction through social media platforms is achieved daily with consistent effort/time management applied. It does NOT, however generate any revenue, directly from my activities.
So many possibilities/opportunities for an aspiring entrepreneur like myself. If only I could find a way. guidance/coaching. One on one communication with a mentor, who will help me to make the most of my day. Manage time effectively. Ability to get myself out there, innovating, thinking, creating and doing.
From what I’ve seen and read, you’re a vastly capable writer/educator, and explain things cleverly, and concisely.
This is 24ct Gold! Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it!