What Is This Passion Thing All About?

Bryan Hairston

We have been having discussions about what drives and motivates us here at The Cup and it has led me to wonder about this passion thing.  I can truly say it is intangible and, for all intents and purposes, immeasurable…or is it?  While talking about we are passionate about, we have also started to identify things that “kill” our passion.  What’s even better is many of these issues have been addressed and for the most part no longer exist.  I still come back to the notion that a definition of passion is both personal and hard to explain.  We are able to passionately love or hate.  We are able to have a passion for good food, for excellent coffee, for fine art, for our families, etc.  We can have a passion so strong nothing else matters, and the same passion can make us meticulous to the point of being obsessive.  Interesting how a word or notion can take on so much meaning to so many of us.

I looked up the word passion on dictionary.com and here is what I found.  “Passion is any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate; a strong or extravagant fondness or desire.” When I read this, and believe me there were more definitions, I couldn’t help but to go back to the idea that passion is intangible.  This intangible thing is the driving force in one’s very soul, and it seems to make one do what has to be done to make sure the result is nothing less than stellar.  There is however an emotional part to this that becomes obvious when we think of someone who is very passionate about something. Not to mention what they will give up for what they truly care about.  Interesting.  Is this passion thing is visceral or emotional then? The good feeling one gets when the art they have been working on is applauded, the Chef who watches as the diners lick the plates, the look on a person’s face when they have tasted an espresso based drink and cannot believe how good it is…that is rewarding.  We all want some kind of affirmation and I think this is tied into ones passion, at least a little bit.  To be honest we may not know how many lives we have changed, we may only see one or two that seem to be affected, but this is enough to fuel the fire.  We think, “Wow, look at what these people think of me.”

For all my purposes, passion is the driving force in me, which makes me get up at 5 am every morning and come to work.  It makes me put up with all the weirdness because deep down I know I am accomplishing something and, for the good of my wife and kids, I need to trudge on.  What are the rewards?  Clients being taken care of, getting the job done, helping where I can and maybe making a friend if I’m not careful!  We all have passions.  Some of them rule us and lead us into what it is we want, and maybe others keep us doing things we may not want to do, but we keep going because it is for the greater good. Whatever inspires you, it is yours to find and keep.  Who knows where it will lead you.  You need to find it though and that may be the hard part.  Once that’s done, the rest becomes clear.

…that’s the b side.