Let Passion Breathe

When was the last time you felt true passion for something? That feeling where time disappears, and the energy to keep going seems to flow from somewhere deeper than mere obligation. Passion is a force that can turn ordinary work into something meaningful and make even the toughest goals achievable. It is not just excitement but a power that drives us to persist, even when obstacles appear.

As time has passed, I've reflected on my own relationship with passion. Looking back, I realize my passion for developing services and service organizations started already in childhood, even if I didn't recognize it then. I was deeply curious about how services worked and why some were perceived as better than others. After getting my first computer, I would look for bugs in games and report them to developers, share ideas with online stores to improve user experience, and even provide feedback during holidays if a hotel had poor air conditioning or housekeeping. What mattered most to me was helping service organizations see where improvements were needed and making sure the next customer wouldn't face the same problem. Even then, I felt the issue was usually not with the people but with the system itself. This passion eventually grew into my profession and the foundation of my own business.

I came back to this theme a few months ago when I watched James Dyson present the world’s thinnest vacuum cleaner. I was struck by how fascinating it was to watch an older gentleman talk about his product with such genuine enthusiasm. His enthusiasm was genuine, free from artificial hype or polished sales talk. Just a person who truly knew his product and exactly which problem it was solving. His passion was clear in every sentence. And to get there had taken years, even decades, and thousands of prototypes. It was not an accident but the result of hard work and a deep belief that one day all the pieces would come together.

The more I think about it, the more I believe that passion fuels creativity, courage, and the ability to see opportunities where others see only problems. Without passion, many innovative products and services would never have been created. Passionate people also tend to inspire those around them, which is why passion should be recognized and nurtured as a valuable resource in organizations. A good question to ask is: do we really identify the people in our organizations who are driven by genuine passion? And do we ensure they have the right conditions to sustain it over the long term? When we find the answer, we hold a force that carries us further than any external motivator.

At the same time, it is important to remember that passion can sweep us along so strongly that recovery is forgotten. Research has shown that days filled with passion may actually lead to greater exhaustion the following day. This happens when people invest so much energy into their work that they overlook rest and mental detachment, leaving them depleted. For this reason, both organizations and individuals need to ensure that passion is balanced with time for recovery and disconnection. Only then can passion remain a resource rather than turn into a burden [1].

It is good to remember that passion does not always have to come from work. It can be found just as well in everyday life or in a hobby that truly matters to you. When you give your passion more space, it can eventually grow into a career, or it can simply give you more energy to succeed at work. What matters most is letting it show and letting it carry you forward, but also remembering to take control.

References

[1] Bredehorst, J., Krautter, K., Meuris, J., & Jachimowicz, J. M. (2023). Don’t Let Passion Lead to Burnout on Your Team. Harvard Business Review.