Journey to Kona Day 87: Passion

My greatest strength and my greatest weakness is my passion.  When used effectively, that passion get other people to believe in me.  I have successfully used it throughout my career.  At  the same time, there are times that passion can turn people off.  Dialing my passion up or down is an art, and an inexact one at that.  Going to the Annual Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society, reminded me of my 30 year attempt to influence the field of geriatrics.  I know that when I was younger, and even not so young, I was looked at as brash, and perhaps even a “troublemaker.”  Ironically, there are some people who appreciated my efforts, and even others that I may have inspired.  When I look back, the people who were turned off by my efforts and my straightforward attempts to affect change, were those who don’t like change and like to be in control. 

Wanting to be in control is not something that is limited by one side or another.  There are many in the healthcare industrial complex that don’t want change.  They are happy with the trillions dollars that flow through their coffers and don’t want to see those dollars reduced by a penny.  Those who are marginalized in this process need change, but often tend to hang on to what little they have out of fear that they might lose what little they have.  I understand the incremental approach to change, and admit that I am a disruptor, a revolutionary.  That approach fits my personality and my passion.  And it can be scary to those who don’t like change.

I also love talking to people about exercise, about the joy of doing ironman’s.  It’s another area for my passion to have an outlet.  Again, not everyone wants to hear, but then again, there are others that share the passion and are eager to discuss.  Not sharing that passion is never an option for me.

At the same time, being passionate comes with a price.  Passion causes the release of cortisol, and for that reason, modulating the passion is something that I need to continue to work on.  I really tried to do that this past week and feel that I did a better job of it than usual.

We are who we are.  Some things we can’t change.  Some things we shouldn’t change.  Still, it’s important to understand who we are and what the impact of that might be.  We still have choices as to how we utilize our inherent strengths and weaknesses.  At the end of the day, I enjoy being a passionate person.  I’ll keep on working to prioritize that passion, and I’ll be damned if I let anyone tell me how to use it.