"I'm passionate about…"
“I’m passionate about…” I’ve always hated that phrase. Because I thought it was fake. I thought it was trendy. I’ve reflexively reacted against trendy things for decades. Pet Rocks, Disco, TED talks, cryptocurrency… But I am coming to see what the phrase is getting at. And I think I like it.
In a work world where human beings are called “resources”, where intelligent, creative, inquisitive, motivated people are subjected to management practices derived from 19th century steel mills and automotive assembly line production, the phrase “I’m passionate about…” is (can be) an attempt to re-assert humanity.
I’ve just finished reading Long Live Latin: The Pleasures of a Useless Language . For no good reason. Again and again, it raises the question of what it means to be human: to be joyful, spontaneous, creative, inquisitive, fulfilled, to discover, to appreciate beauty, music, art, language, and poetry (yes, I have a liberal arts degree)
I guess if I had to say what I’m passionate about, it’s about being human and treating other people as humans. To put a professional spin on it “I am passionate about collaborating with technical people to find creative solutions to important problems.”
Go learn a useless language. Climb a mountain and enjoy the view. Spend time playing games with your family. Be human. Be passionate. Carpe diem.