The Passion of the Chimp
Good Evening!
As I stare at my Netbook's expansive 8-inch screen, I feel like a wildebeest using the fundamental theorem of calculus to find the derivative of an integral. To be honest, I'm feeling a bit rusty. It has been 9 months since my last Cubicle Chronicle posting, and I've decided that it's time for (yet another) rebirth. For the two or three of you who have participated in the chronicles of past, welcome back! For those who are reading for the first time, a little context: The Cubicle Chronicles is my sounding board on philosophy, politics, and other random bits of obsessive thought. The writing and opinions may occasionally dance upon the fringe of acceptable dinner table conversation, but I attempt to select topics that are at least moderately thought-provoking.
Originally, all postings were conceived, birthed, and raised from the confines of my cubicle at work; thus, the name. I encouraged other professionals to break up the monotony of filing TPS reports, and engage in online banter from the bounds of their own fabric-lined cages. Although I'm no longer in a position where I can afford to take a couple hours to craft a chronicle at work (and no longer have a cube...), I am committing myself to publishing chronicles on a bi-weekly basis from this point forward. My cubicle has transformed from its organizational diorama origins to that of the caffeine-peddling establishments across the DC area.
The Cubicle Chronicles is but one spicket from which I attempt to quench my creative thirst; and over the past 9 months, I've grown pretty damn parched! I hope that you'll not only enjoy what you read here, but participate in the banter by leaving your comments. With all of the cordialities out of the way, let's talk about passion!
Passion
It’s what you crave more than gut-rotting White Castle burgers. The most successful people in the world could not have reached the summit of their success without it. It’s the wind that fills your sails and gets you moving across the ocean of life. It’s the commitment that has yielded industrial and scientific breakthroughs throughout history. It expresses itself in many ways, but regardless of its origin or target, it’s the fuel that keeps one's spirit from slipping into cold grey rigor mortis. If you've ever experienced passion for something, or somebody, you know exactly what I mean.
To be, or not to be?
I’ve recently found myself questioning my own passion.
What fills my sails and gives me a sense of purpose?
What is it that invigorates me into a manic state of excitement?
What is it that I am passionate about?
I struggled with these questions, and found myself at a near panic when I could not find the answers. Am I without passion? Am I an empty shell of a human being who schleps through life, simply converting oxygen into carbon dioxide?
After some reflection, I realized that it was true: I have no wind of passion. I am passionless. It was after some reflection, that I realized: passion is bullshit. Passion is bullshit, because it doesn’t exist.
“Okay Don, you’ve gone too far; you’re talking crazy talk!”
Really, what is passion anyway? My quick $0.25 theory is that passion is an emotionally-based psychological energy that may drive people to take action. Sound familiar? Well, that’s because I just described motivation. In psychology, motivation is always based upon reward or punishment. The reward/punishment can come in two flavors; either emotional satisfaction/turmoil (intrinsic), or material or tangible reward/punishment (extrinsic). The psychological explanation of motivation is not as romantic or inspirational as its perverted business/sport pop-psychology cousin, but it serves as a much better alternative explanation. Passion is best left to big-toothed motivational speaker fodder, because it serves no practical or legitimate purpose in reality.
Questions for the masses…
Do you believe in the existence of “passion?” If so, what’s the difference between “passion” and “motivation?”
Do you feel that passion is merely enough to manifest action and accomplishment?
I look forward to hearing from you; for it fuels MY passion. Oh, and welcome to The Cubicle Chronicles!
All right, click the "comments" link below to read the responses of others, as well as share your own responses. "NO" you don't have to be a member of Blogger to put in your $0.02; Just select "Name/URL," type in your name, and publish your comments... that's it.... it's as easy as pie!
As I stare at my Netbook's expansive 8-inch screen, I feel like a wildebeest using the fundamental theorem of calculus to find the derivative of an integral. To be honest, I'm feeling a bit rusty. It has been 9 months since my last Cubicle Chronicle posting, and I've decided that it's time for (yet another) rebirth. For the two or three of you who have participated in the chronicles of past, welcome back! For those who are reading for the first time, a little context: The Cubicle Chronicles is my sounding board on philosophy, politics, and other random bits of obsessive thought. The writing and opinions may occasionally dance upon the fringe of acceptable dinner table conversation, but I attempt to select topics that are at least moderately thought-provoking.
Originally, all postings were conceived, birthed, and raised from the confines of my cubicle at work; thus, the name. I encouraged other professionals to break up the monotony of filing TPS reports, and engage in online banter from the bounds of their own fabric-lined cages. Although I'm no longer in a position where I can afford to take a couple hours to craft a chronicle at work (and no longer have a cube...), I am committing myself to publishing chronicles on a bi-weekly basis from this point forward. My cubicle has transformed from its organizational diorama origins to that of the caffeine-peddling establishments across the DC area.
The Cubicle Chronicles is but one spicket from which I attempt to quench my creative thirst; and over the past 9 months, I've grown pretty damn parched! I hope that you'll not only enjoy what you read here, but participate in the banter by leaving your comments. With all of the cordialities out of the way, let's talk about passion!
Passion
It’s what you crave more than gut-rotting White Castle burgers. The most successful people in the world could not have reached the summit of their success without it. It’s the wind that fills your sails and gets you moving across the ocean of life. It’s the commitment that has yielded industrial and scientific breakthroughs throughout history. It expresses itself in many ways, but regardless of its origin or target, it’s the fuel that keeps one's spirit from slipping into cold grey rigor mortis. If you've ever experienced passion for something, or somebody, you know exactly what I mean.
To be, or not to be?
I’ve recently found myself questioning my own passion.
What fills my sails and gives me a sense of purpose?
What is it that invigorates me into a manic state of excitement?
What is it that I am passionate about?
I struggled with these questions, and found myself at a near panic when I could not find the answers. Am I without passion? Am I an empty shell of a human being who schleps through life, simply converting oxygen into carbon dioxide?
After some reflection, I realized that it was true: I have no wind of passion. I am passionless. It was after some reflection, that I realized: passion is bullshit. Passion is bullshit, because it doesn’t exist.
“Okay Don, you’ve gone too far; you’re talking crazy talk!”
Really, what is passion anyway? My quick $0.25 theory is that passion is an emotionally-based psychological energy that may drive people to take action. Sound familiar? Well, that’s because I just described motivation. In psychology, motivation is always based upon reward or punishment. The reward/punishment can come in two flavors; either emotional satisfaction/turmoil (intrinsic), or material or tangible reward/punishment (extrinsic). The psychological explanation of motivation is not as romantic or inspirational as its perverted business/sport pop-psychology cousin, but it serves as a much better alternative explanation. Passion is best left to big-toothed motivational speaker fodder, because it serves no practical or legitimate purpose in reality.
Questions for the masses…
Do you believe in the existence of “passion?” If so, what’s the difference between “passion” and “motivation?”
Do you feel that passion is merely enough to manifest action and accomplishment?
I look forward to hearing from you; for it fuels MY passion. Oh, and welcome to The Cubicle Chronicles!
All right, click the "comments" link below to read the responses of others, as well as share your own responses. "NO" you don't have to be a member of Blogger to put in your $0.02; Just select "Name/URL," type in your name, and publish your comments... that's it.... it's as easy as pie!
posted by Don the "Head Chimp" at
9:37 PM
5 Comments:
Que pasa Head Chimp. Glad to see you are back.
By
Josh, at 10:56 AM
Hey Don (and anyone else who cares to read my ranting)-
It just happens that I’ve been thinking about this for a while as well, and while it would be preferable to spend a few hours (preferably with some drinks) debating the issue, I will attempt to answer sober (although nicely caffeinated).
To start out with, I would argue that passion does exist and is separate but related to motivation. In bringing up intrinsic motivation, you described emotional satisfaction/ turmoil; essentially that intrinsic motivation comes from internal rewards in the form of emotional satisfaction. But what drives this? What criteria come into play to determine our emotional satisfaction? Obviously it is different for each person; my intrinsic satisfaction may come from arguing esoteric issues to the point of driving everyone around me crazy (unfortunately I’m not getting any extrinsic rewards from it), while other people may get it from being with people or creating art, music, etc. This is where passion comes into play- I would argue that your passion is the internal criterion which determines your emotional satisfaction (resulting in intrinsic motivation). If you’re acting on your passion, you will have emotional satisfaction as a reward and become intrinsically motivated.
I would go further as to argue that passion is the process of expressing a creative impulse. Through this expression you will find emotional satisfaction- resulting in intrinsic motivation. Finding one’s passion really comes down to finding a medium for creative expression. It’s the process of creative expression that is key rather than the actual medium through which it is expressed.
To be truly passionless would mean that you have no creative impulse; I would argue that the creative impulse is an inherent trait in all people, but it can be tricky to find a good avenue for this expression and many people don’t find a good way to do it. This results in people being emotionally unsatisfied, and requiring extrinsic motivation to act, but ultimately leaving them feeling unfulfilled and empty.
So to sum up, passion is the expression of your creative impulse which results in the emotional satisfaction that drives your intrinsic motivation. The key is to find something that will allow you to express your creative impulse.
By
Casey, at 12:01 PM
this is great, when do we see the print edition?
heres the thing man, your story leaves me with a burning question:
since realizing that passion doesnt exist, and theres only motivation,
have you decided what is your motivation? do you have any?
tell us! dont leave us laying on the bed with our legs in the air!
finish the job!
By
Joe G, at 6:59 PM
Josh: Chillin; thanks!
Casey: A caffeinated Casey, is a Casey worth listening to; that's what I always say! Well, I'm saying it now... I like your argument, you have a very good point.
However, I still will argue that intrinsic motivation exists only because of emotional reinforcement. I do something, I like it; I want to do it again. I do something, I get paid; perhaps I'll do it again. In both cases, my behavior has been rewarded and reinforced; the former being a more emotionally fulfilling reward than the latter.
Not to go too far down the Yellowbrick road, but some folks out there are even rewarded by emotional punishment. Although the behavior/situation may make them feel like crap, they may have a net reward of comfort if feeling like crap is something that they are used to. OR, perhaps, they even suffer from the curse of the artist; always complain about being unhappy, but without the unhappiness they wouldn't be inspired to do what they love, which is create art.
I think by framing passion as an expression of the "creative" impulse, you may be limiting many people's general impression. I think the general populous thinks of passion in the same light that I think of "obsession" and "dedication." In that context, one does not necessarily have to be performing a "creative" expression, just showing love and dedication to a target.
Joey G: I'll oversimplify my personal views for you:
I'm intrinsically motivated by creating music, writing, hiking, and basically anything that I feel helps connect me to the world and living things around me.
I'm extrinsically motivated to work for a living; because traveling and wandering around the world like Kane of Kung Fu doesn't really pay the bills.
By
Don the "Head Chimp", at 7:17 PM
Glad to see the chronicles are back!
To keep things short:
I believe motivation is a means to an end, to get things done. Passion on the other hand is more about the journey.
By
JL, at 9:45 PM
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