Is passion getting a bad rap?

July 25, 2014

passion on red“Lots of passion is a dangerous thing,” someone said the other day. Do you agree?

I can’t agree.

Or maybe I do agree.

It’s true that you can’t live teetering on the edge of great passion all the time. It’s unsteady.

But overall I think a life with no passion at all would be boring.

Every great achievement was sparked by some form of passion.

Moderation in passion? The two seem counter-productive. If it’s moderate, it isn’t passion.

No, I love the no-holds-barred kind of passion for anything and anyone.

But I don’t believe in being stupid. (Although I certainly have been.)

At this stage of life, I’ve learned it’s important to pick and choose your passions.

Carefully. Especially where romance is involved.

Back in the day, we heard a lot about passion as it involved our work.

“I’m passionate about…” and if you were lucky, the blank would be filled in with what you did for a living.

People are passionate about politics. About religion. About lots of things.

I think it’s necessary for a full life.

So is my friend giving passion a bad rap? What do you think?

42 comments on “Is passion getting a bad rap?
  1. I am passionate about marine animals and scuba diving. and a lot of other things. one must temper passion so you can get other things done, but when you are in the throes….awesome!

  2. Julie Phelps says:

    What fun would life be without passion after all? I believe in no reins, at least for any personal application that applies to me. I feed on it, after all.

  3. Carol Graham says:

    Totally agree with you Carol as to how important it is to be passionate and have written blog posts about it as well. I loved your line – “But I don’t believe in being stupid. (Although I certainly have been.)”

    With passion, as with many other emotions, sometimes we need to rein them in but that doesn’t deny that they are there.

  4. I think living with passion is just another way to say living joyfully. I am passionate about what gives me joy…there are many things for me. Life is short…I wan’t put here to be bored. I was put here to live passionately and with purpose. That doesn’t mean that I am on a 24/7 high…put at peace deep down inside.

  5. Laura Kennedy says:

    Interestingly, the origin of the word is the Latin “passionem”–“suffering.” I get that.

  6. Lana says:

    People probably need MORE passion in their lives. A life without passion is pretty dull and grey.

  7. Kymberly says:

    The key is how we define passion and whether it’s for a person, activity, calling, cause. So many variations that it’s hard to say whether we can have too much. Life without passion would be bland regardless.

  8. Karen says:

    Well, of course it’s dangerous! But it’s also necessary. I find people with passion and curiosity far more interesting than those who live safe, unexamined lives.

  9. Sheryl says:

    Oh no, no, no. Passion makes life exciting. And it enriches all our experiences. And it’s infectious. Can you tell I think it’s a GOOD thing??

  10. I agree with Sheryl, passion makes life exciting. My problem is that I am passionate about everything and I don’t know how to do all I am passionate about.

  11. Ruth Curran says:

    Funny thing Carol… passion and stress, from a biological perspective, do very similar things and, if not moderated consciously, have lasting effects. The big difference is that passion and stress trigger an initial release different neurochemicals — both heighten experience, both reward us so we keep going, both turn on and off your body’s systems to maximize performance, and both have an “off” switch that stop that release. The point, I think, is that our bodies were not built to be in any heightened state all the time. It is about finding the balance so we can live, do, and be all we want and need. As a famous mathematically rooted philosopher taught (at least my interpretation anyway), it is through limits — emotional, biological, philosophical — that we understand and can experience and achieve “harmony”.

    For the record, you totally set me up for this one and I just couldn’t resist :)!

  12. We all have morals and values and responsibilities and obligations. But without a doubt it’s our passions that shape us.

  13. Kimba says:

    As far as relationships go, the key is to be realistic – you can’t be full-throttle, burn down the barn passionate all the time. BUT, if passion goes completely out the window, then the relationship, at a minimum, probably needs a tune-up. IMHO

  14. Laura says:

    A life without passion? No thank you!

  15. I predict heavy making out and hickies will never go out of style. At least I HOPE not.

  16. Penny Sadler says:

    Without a passion for anything what is life for? Even Mother Teresa had a passion for her work and message, how else could she do that? It’s essential, like water, food, sleep.

  17. I am passionate about SO many things that it makes it difficult to remain passionate and give 100% so I love when my passions can work together.
    That being said, I decided to work a job out of the house that I wasn’t passionate about so I could be passionate about my in the house writing job.
    Just my luck, I fell in passion with the out of the house job.

  18. Hi Carol! I think it probably depends upon how you define passion–but the way I see it life would be incredibly boring without it. Staying excited about what I am doing and hanging out with others who are passionate it the only way to go. Count my vote for staying passionate! ~Kathy

  19. Donna says:

    I have a “warrior” personality. So I am passionate about almost everything,. I have been asked several times, “why do you care so much?’
    No idea, I just do. I am had wired to care….

  20. Donna says:

    That would be hard wired

  21. Passion? What an intriguing topic. It’s an essential component of life for me. A must have or a rather die. But you likely already know that about me. It’s go big or why bother? But then I think you are the same way.

  22. Mary Buchan says:

    I am passionate about living a life of passion and purpose!!!!

  23. It would depend if it was good or bad passion. My marriage is full of passion, I’m very passionatea about writing, Alzheimer’s caregiving and traveling even cooking sometimes. But not all passikn is good. A crime of passion is never a good thing. So it all depends.

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