Passion. A Good Thing?

Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something. That is one definition according to a dictionary. I think everyone has his or her own view of what passion is, and we all have it. There is something that all of us care deeply about. I had planned on posting this before Tuesday because what really got me thinking about this was all of the talk, commentary, and advertisements by, and for, those running for public office.

It is very apparent that every single person that is running is very passionate for their cause, that is what provoked them to embark on the hard, tiresome, and sometimes frustrating process of running for public office. Unfortunately, in all too many occasions, they resort to talking down their opponents, instead of talking about their platforms. We have debates instead of discussions. The reason for this is well known and clear; voters react much more strongly out of fear than confidence. In everyone’s busy lives it is hard to truly familiarize yourself with the platforms of all of the candidates. So, instead, we react to the little tidbits that we pick up from here and there.

All of this leads me to my point: Is passion a good thing? Now, if I were trying to make a long story short I would simply say “yes”, but that would be too easy. I think being passionate about something is driven by a lot of things, and it leads to a lot of our motivation. However, unchanneled passion is simply a waste of energy. The term I have begun to use is “speaking the listeners language.” We must be able to talk about our passions in ways that will entice our listeners. Things that I may say that make perfect sense to me may as well be spoken in mandarin to some of the people I talk to.

It is equally important to be able to have real discussions and conversations as opposed to debates and lectures. It is something that I think has become something of a lost art. It is sometimes too easy to become assertive, and just start talking down the opposite point of view instead of validating why you believe the way that you do. It can be very humbling sometimes to do this, and that is not a bad thing. To think that you cannot learn anything from the discussion is simply foolish. If we want our side of the story to receive proper attention we must give our own attention.

So, after making a short story long, yes, passion is a good thing.

Now, f you would like a little comic relief check out this video that was shared with me by a friend. Now this is passion… Phil Davison