Is it passion or simply an interest? A simple way to know the difference

It took everything in our collective powers not to burst into a thunderous laugh when our manager gloated about us being a great team.

"I'm proud of you guys," he said cheerfully, completely unaware of our true feelings. "Your work always gets turned in on time,” I can remember him saying. “You guys are so efficient. No team is as committed as you guys."

Committed? Hmmmm. Okay, a word on commitment in a moment.

But he was right about one thing: No team did it like us. We moved through mountains of paper like a well-oiled machine. The work came in and went out. And we always finished hours early.

Yep, we were speed demons. But that's exactly what you become when you are bored and completely uninspired with your work. You want to get it over as fast as you can. And we did.

But were we committed? Absolutely not! Not even close.

Were we compliant? Yes. No question about it. We received our work orders and we complied.

But we certainly weren’t committed. And that's where most managers fall short - confusing compliance with commitment.

You see, commitment sits at the heart of passion. You automatically become committed to an activity for which you have a passion. You get lost in time. It becomes fun even when it’s exhausting – like running long distances. That’s why passion is such a critical component of a second cup experience – the process of making a living doing what makes you happy. It connotes steadfastness towards some end. It is an active commitment, not passive. Passion requires your direct involvement. Reading about playing golf is not the same as playing it.

So, how do you know if what you are feeling is passion or simply a strong interest in something?

First, passion leaves clues. There's a history that can be traced to a specific behavior. You won’t know that you are passionate about 1960’s rock until you listen to it. But then there’s the commitment to a continuous set of activities that fuels the passion. It may be your encyclopedic knowledge about the era, frequent visits to conferences, regular chats with like-minded individuals or your vast record collection. But there will be clues. Lots of them. And if you can’t readily identify these clues in your life, then it’s simply an interest.

Are you passionate about something? Are you committed to it? Well then, fill that second cup!