Are you passionate about being passionate?

It took me some time to understand what passion means. It took me a lifetime to pick a passion, and now that I have to help others build their passions into a career or business, I realize how wrong we have all been about the idea of ‘being passionate.’

Passion = Craziness

If anything or person (whether real or fake) makes you crazy, you can go ahead and classify it as something you are passionate about.

Well, now we have one more word to work around.

What does crazy mean?

Since I last checked, nobody wants to be called crazy. Sometimes, half-crazy is still good; a lot of geniuses are called half-crazy in hushed voices. But is it still accepted by society? I don’t think so.

So what is this being crazy? Simply put: crazy means indulging in something without being aware of anything else around it. Self-awareness is also a state of craziness. That’s when you, your inner peace, and your path become the only thing you care about.

What can you be crazy about?

You can be crazy or passionate about anything and everything. I asked my friends, and they gave me a few ideas. A friend is crazy about her dog. When she is with her, she does not care about anything else. A couple of days ago, when the dog had a small accident, she rushed to the hospital, skipped her meals, an important client call, and her plans with her boyfriend.

There is absolutely no way we can judge if she is right or wrong. But her action gives the understanding that she went crazy with the accident. Hence, if she says she’s passionate about her dog, I believe her.

How to find out if you’re really passionate

Passion comes when you do it without putting any effort or conditions.

If you love singing and are a professional singer because you think singing is your passion, it can be true, or it cannot be true. You can test it for yourself. Singing — just like anything else under the sun — can be a passion. But can you sing without worrying about the place, crowd, time or the money? If you can sing at midnight with no audience without a second thought, I might consider it to be your passion.

However, if you feel having an audience makes you sing better, your passion might not be singing. It may be pleasing people. Which again — is fine — but just a different passion.

Will others understand your passion?

Passion is a wonderful experience and also a nightmare for you and others. It is a synonym for being crazy. And who likes being crazy?

Crazy people can do things without thinking twice. They might cry for what they feel is important for them. They will work on a project they love for hours, days, and maybe years and lives. They don’t care about money, time or the energy invested.

I have seen my friend crying over good music. Why because he loves music, and that specific peace was absolutely a piece of art. Another friend of mine was watching Tendulkar’s best innings, and he paused the video when Sachin played a straight drive boundary. For me, it was a crazy thing. For him, just a passion.

Society has a different opinion of passion

There are no rules, boundaries, rights, or wrongs when you are passionate. Because passion isn’t about approval or winning; it is about happiness. It is neuroscience. You can train yourself to be passionate about something. But once you do, it becomes a natural part of you. Passion is organic, real, raw. Mothers are passionate about their children, and nothing can change that. When they are doing something for their kids, you and I can sense the craziness in them.

Society, in general, does not like the idea of passion. Since it does not have a structure or rules, it automatically will remain out of control. Societies like to keep things in balance, but societies evolve around the craziness of individuals. They grow, thanks to the same craziness. And although society never promotes crazy ideas and people, it celebrates your success and tags you ‘great’ as soon as you are proved right.

Alexander was a crazy Greek who wanted to conquer the world. Gandhi was a fantastic lawyer who wanted to win a war with truth and non-violence. Hitler, Churchill, Da Vinci, Edison, and Einstien were all first called ‘crazy’, and later ‘great.’

Here’s some thought

Being crazy and passionate is also very close to choosing a purpose. Talking about purpose is a topic for some other day. But right now, let me know if you think passion is being crazy or not.