What’s your passion?
When I was eighteen I had a pretty romantic outlook on life. When I went to university I imagined that I’d find myself surrounded by other bright young students, all passionate about their chosen field of study.
I imagined books and coffee and lively debates that would run into the night and lead to new and exciting ways of seeing the world. I pictured us being taught by learned professors who would impart their knowledge and their wisdom, and who would inspire us — their eager young protégés — to go on and achieve great things ourselves.
In short, I expected it to be like Dead Poets Society, but extended over three years.
The reality?
Well, I did meet a lot of brilliant students and I was privileged to be tutored by some exceptional and very inspiring lecturers, and to these fine people I am very grateful. But I also met plenty of pretty uninspiring tutors. And there’s nothing quite so dispiriting as being lectured by someone who apparently lacks any interest in what they’re saying.
So, when I got to choose my second and third year modules, I found my decisions were often just as influenced by who the tutor was going to be as they were by what the actual module was. Through experience I learned that while Professor X could could probably make even a telephone directory seem like a text deeply fascinating and worthy of study, Professor Y generally failed to stimulate my curiosity or my critical faculties, whatever the topic happened to be.
Now, of course, we are all unique, and different people will naturally find different things more or less interesting. Plus, when it comes to learning, factors such as how well prepared and skilled the teacher is, and which learning style is used will all have an effect. But I still think that a communicator’s passion for their subject counts for an awful lot.
Think about the great men and women who you most admire. Whatever other talents they possess, I bet they also demonstrate a real passion for their chosen domain, be it sport or science, politics or art.
Over the years I’ve found that when you get to know a person well enough, there’s usually at least one thing that they’re really passionate about. It might not be anything to do with their chosen career or what they studied at school. Their chosen thing might not be trendy and it might not bring them any social or financial rewards, but there’s usually something. And when you discover what it is, you’ll often find that there’s a burst of energy and passion in the way they talk about it.
For example, one of my uncles is fanatical about birds. He’s been a keen bird-watcher for decades now but he still gets super excited by spotting a particular bird fly past. At certain points in the year he’ll get up incredibly early to get out to the marshes or to the forest or to the beach, where he’ll lead a dawn bird walk for a small group of other enthusiasts. And any day of the year he’s always more than happy to talk in great detail (often interspersed with demonstrations of bird calls) about birds to anyone who will listen.
Another example: my wife is absolutely potty about plants and gardening. I mean, not only does she do a lot of gardening, read gardening books, and watch gardening programs, she also has a kind of plant antenna that means she’s always aware of any interesting plant within sight or smell.
We’ll be out and about somewhere and my wife will suddenly stop, grab my arm and start pointing excitedly at a particular plant. She will then proceed to tell me its common and Latin name, what variety it is, what kind of soil and garden outlook it likes, and a range of other details besides. I kid you not: this really happens. It’s almost like a medical condition she has.
Now, here’s the thing: I’m not really into bird watching or gardening myself — yet I love talking to my uncle or to my wife about the things that they’re passionate about.
And I’m not simply humoring them. When I hear them speak about the wonders of a spotted flycatcher or the sumptuous beauty of a paeonia lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ in full bloom these things do indeed seem utterly fascinating. Their passion and enthusiasm is contagious.
What I came to realize back at university, and what has been reinforced many times since, is that when you hear people speak about a topic that they’re truly passionate about, it’s never difficult to listen. This doesn’t mean you will necessarily share their passion or agree with everything they say. But amidst all of the noise of everyday life, getting to hear someone speak with passion about a topic they are knowledgeable about is generally a real joy.
The world needs people who care deeply about different topics and who can spark interest in others.
So, what’s your passion?
And what are you doing to nurture and to share it?
