For fifteen years now, the term passion has become a vague expression. There are organizations, books, non-profit ministries, conferences, and campaigns that all market the word to push their brand. It’s a great word, but is so often overused that I think its meaning has been diluted.
So let’s look at the root word. Passion means any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, such as love or hate. We feel passionate about a football team; about a lover; about ice cream; about our faith in God. We all know, however, there’s a difference between passions—some mean more than others; some we sacrifice for and others…not so much. If we are honest, we fail to discern the difference between:
- Curiosity
- Interests
- Opinions
- Beliefs
- Commitments
- Convictions
There is one truth I know. Passion requires at least two ingredients if it is ever going to turn into action. The two ingredients are:
- Ambition: the longing to experience something beyond your current reality.
- Discomfort: the current misery you feel pushing you to change your reality.
One reason I think we often don’t see a student’s passion turn into action is they aren’t uncomfortable enough. Kids today are full of energy and creativity. But it’s frequently not transformed into behavior because their current reality is quite satisfactory. They’re not dissatisfied enough. Adolescence is full of playful pleasure.
Do you know why Egypt experienced a revolution in January of 2011? The young people in that country were dissatisfied and uncomfortable. Passion became action.
No ordinary people would be doing these things without passion. And none of them would be passionate enough to sacrifice for their causes unless they were ambitious and dissatisfied.
So let’s talk turkey. Are you ambitious and uncomfortable? How about the students you lead? Have you allowed them to experience some disequilibrium that leads to action? I recommend you create some environments and experiences where your “kids” get uncomfortable…and see what passion lies inside. Expose them to some problems and, then make sure they feel the weight of those problems.
Years ago, a major airline had a pattern of losing luggage. No matter how much the CEO talked to his managers, however, they just couldn’t seem to solve the problem. So, the CEO created a little passion in them. He called for a meeting at headquarters asking each manger to fly in for two days. Then, the CEO requested the baggage handlers purposely lose the managers luggage. They did. Amazingly, it was at this meeting these managers found some great solutions to stop losing luggage.
I’m just saying…
