As I’ve gotten older I’ve decided that being a passionate
person is far better than being a perfectionist.
Once you accept the fact that you're not perfect, then you develop some confidence. ~Rosalynn Carter
In my working environment perfection matters…and in the
industry I work in it is a given that there are no margin for errors. My job on the other hand is an unusual job
within the industry and in the line of work that I do passion matters. Recently I’ve been confronted with a couple
of situations where a work product may have been perfect and the outcome was good, but
if the task had been completed with passion the outcome would have been
stupendous.
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| Thank you U.S. Wildflower.com for this beautiful photo of the passion flower - my favorite! |
A few years back someone in observing me and my hobbies
commented that I was a bit obsessive. I
confess that since my forties, I haven’t just gardened, I started a garden
club. I didn’t just take a ballet class,
I took ballet 3 days a week, helped with a pre-school ballet class and performed
in 2 recitals (odd for a woman in her 40s I know but it was fun)! Oh there are lots more examples of my
passions but In 2003 I was very lucky when our managing partner asked me to
take a role with our firm leading volunteerism. Volunteering is something that
I’ve always been passionate about and I’m often one of those people that just
can’t watch the news and hear of catastrophic disasters without organizing a
drive or an effort to support those affected.
In raising my family I made sure each of my children served as a volunteer
in some way. I’m recalling the time my
daughter was excited to help with a Habitat build until she got there and
realized that we were on the insulation team and it was 96 degrees that day. All I can say is that my passion for helping
others and really making a difference in my community, locally and beyond must
have been obvious in the workplace as I was singled out to take on an
incredible role which has changed my life in so many ways.
As the person who organizes volunteer efforts I can tell
you that passion makes a difference. Recently
we had one person passionately wanting to assist victims of human trafficking
and I was able to connect him with several very meaningful opportunities. Over
the course of a year he represented several clients who’d been through some
horrific experiences. This person assisted
each client with an intense passion and through these experiences has since
moved into an international position because of his passion for assisting victims of sexual exploitation and
human trafficking.
One of our volunteers loves children, even going so far as
to go back to school to get a degree in early childhood education. She serves in a number of volunteer roles
working with children and last summer ultimately performed one of the most
selfless acts I’ve heard of in years by actually crossing the U.S. Mexico
border in an area known for conflict in an effort to help some children in
distress. She ultimately won a national award for her extraordinary efforts.
As a passionate person, I’m inspired by other passionate
people.
Here’s what I’ve learned. It isn’t that perfectionist aren’t passionate
people but I’ve observed that when a person pursues an issue with a passion,
perfection will follow. Passion brings
with it energy, creativity, problem-tunities and often some amazing results.
As I age I’m prepared to begin to sag, droop, and
potentially lose things but the one thing that I hope I can hold on to is my
passion.
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