Be zealous. (showing great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective.)
Hmm. That’s me. Admittedly, I get too excited when I’m in pursuit of a cause, and I drive people crazy. I know this about myself, and I have no plans to change my behavior.
I remember once long ago, I used to be wildly enthusiastic about our Studer journey, and I’d use (overuse) the term “sense of urgency” regarding everything. A senior leader told me to knock it off, and I felt defeated and shutdown and my energy dropped. Someone else told me to stop talking about Quint, and I felt even more deflated. If you allow others to buzzkill your energy or spark … the passion will fizzle out.
I think this happens to a lot of people. Collectively, we as a society feel its our job to reduce other’s zealous behavior.* I say if they aren’t hurting you or anyone else, and they want to talk about biking or cats or Quint endlessly … then let them. Walk away, ignore them … but don’t damper their enthusiasm. It might not come back, and wouldn’t that be a shame?
*My great niece, Kaitlin (2 ½), got into an argument with my nephew, Eric (27), at Thanksgiving last year. She told him to stop looking at her - he was bothering her. He told her she was bothering him. It went on for the entire afternoon. It was a zealous battle of wills. It was quite enjoyable.
