This week I went to the driving range with some friends. As I’ve raved about it two Tuesday ago, you can really say that I’ve absolutely enjoyed the experience.
Regardless, I’ve also noticed one thing while at the driving range…
I’ve noticed that while I was concentrating hard on whacking the balls to fly high and straight to the point that I was sweating due to the heat, one of my acquaintances was not only late, but was also merely half-assing it, hitting the ball half-heartedly and sitting down most of the time.
It came to a point that even when we offered to give her more balls, she insisted that she’s already hit enough… this was even when she didn’t finish one basket!
Nothing against my friend… she seems to be a sweet girl.
But heck, if you’ve spent over NT$150 taking a taxi to the driving range in order to spend 2-3 hours there, then please do make the most out of your time, money and effort!
Don’t just sit there and play half-heartedly when you do play… play with passion and with all your heart!
Then I realized that there lay the difference.
Whereas I went to the driving range to perfect my swing and learn how to hit the ball far and straight…
She, with her color coordinated outfit and golf club was there to socialize and look good.
I came there to learn.
She came there to pose.
And how would you define a poser?
According to thefreedictionary.com, a poser is “one who affects a particular attribute, attitude, or identity to impress or influence others.“
Hence, she really wasn’t there to play golf, despite insisting she likes the game.
She didn’t really have the passion for it, and it showed.
You see, if a person has passion for something, it just shines.
It shows in every movement you make, every behavior you express and how your eyes sparkle when you talk about it.
I looked at her eyes.
Nothing.
She “likes” it, but heck, she doesn’t really have the heart for it.
The same goes to another acquaintance of mine.
Now listen up, this is classic.
There was one time she came to the climbing gym with us.
I was actually surprised.
I didn’t know climbing was her thing, and was excited to know that she would want to give it a shot.
Instead, what did she do?
She sat down on the bench…
Opened a woman’s magazine…
And proceeded to thumb through the pages while we went climbing!
My jaws just dropped.
*Raven lets out an expletive*
Yes, whereas at least, my golf acquaintance tried her hand on golf a bit, this second woman didn’t even do anything!
Imagine reading a woman’s magazine in the climbing gym!!!
Now, that’s just a funny sight.
Sorry to say, but that’s just a *$#(%$&*(#$* waste of time.
So there lies the difference between winners and posers…
One does it because he/she really likes it. And because of that, they excel. They pratice with discipline and figure out various techniques to improve themselves.
My friend Top-Climber is an example of it.
When he talks about climbing, his eyes twinkle and shine. He couldn’t stop talking about the bouldering gym when we discovered it together.
EM, the friend I met last night, is another example.
EM was so passionate about Toastmasters that every speech EM made impressed the heck out of me. On the first year, EM finished over 27 speeches, or over 2 speeches in a month. Now, that’s a lot of speeches!
But because these people have passion, they excelled in what they did.
Top-Climber attempts to challenge himself by trying various routes every single time we go climb…
EM thinks long and hard to come up with interesting topics that is relevant to each audience.
Yes ladies and gentlemen, these are the people who I deem as winners.
Not posers.
Looking at them, you can’t help but be enthusiastic. You can’t help but be transfixed and be impressed by them. Their passion also becomes your passion. Their interests makes you be more interested in what they’re doing.
This was when I realized the importance of heart when doing something.
Most people just do things half-ass in their life.
They go with the flow and do things either because everyone does it, or because they have to do things.
Very few people do things with any real passion.
But you know what, despite their rarity, when you meet these people with lots of heart, you can’t be helped but be drawn to them.
Why?
Because these people are not just going with the flow.
Instead, these are people who are actually ACTIVELY LIVING THEIR LIVES and making the most out of it. These people are living their life to the brim.
So the question is, what are you now?
Are you a winner… or a poser?
Think about it.
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Guys are really funny.
When you pay them attention, they ignore you or take you for granted.
When you ignore them and go on your happy way, they call you and ask you out to “catch up.”
And no matter how hard you try, you can’t help but smile… widely. 😀
Yes, guys are really funny.
Have a great Wednesday!
ouch.. makes me a poser right now. i go to work each day and all i could think of is how to drag time. i’ve lost the heart for my job, but the sad thing is i can’t find the guts to quit. scared to get out of my comfort zone eh. i think poser = loser. sad, sad, sad..
Ah yes, that elusive word “passion”. Nietche said “He who has a why to live, can bear with almost any how.” In my own opinion, a human being with a passion in his or her life is one lucky human being. And to have multiple passions? Rare indeed, and certainly enviable.
Food for thought… must one have passion first which then leads to commitment? Or can the very act of commiting to something create a passion for it? Most of us wait around for a passion to spring up and then we follow it. I’m grappling with this myself.
And Luwees, I hear ya. All of us have either been in your spot or will be in your spot at some point. Just remember, the only thing constant about life is change. Learn not to fear change and you will be one step ahead of 90% of the rest of humanity. lol
Luwess, well, we uave a choice. You can stay and try to make your job exciting, or start looking for another one while at this present job. But don’t settle for anything less.
Princedrake, thanks for that thoughtful insight. I think that passion is first, then we become committed to it. We make that choice. You realize it’s worthwhile to be committed to that thing. However, don’t force yourself to committing something you’re not passionate about. You’ll just waste your time. 🙂
Raven, yeah that’s what I have thought, but recently heard someone say just the opposite – that commitment first can lead to passion. And then I remembered an example of this from my own life.
A few years back when I was fresh out of college I wanted to be a writer… it was my only passion. I wrote a novel which was politely turned down by a publishing house (in retrospect it wasn’t very good lol). My degree, however, was in business – and I’d always had an interest and a talent in this, but not a passion.
So to make a long story short, I decided one day that I wasn’t going to pay the bills anytime soon as a writer so I made a deliberate decision to switch my focus and open up a business. And I immediately COMMITED to it completely. I stopped writing and began to focus 110% on my business… and do you know what happened? I soon began to LOVE it. I really grew a passion for it and for the first time in my life became a workaholic. lol Anyway, after about 4 years the passion for that particular business faded and I moved on to other things (I’m an aries and I always need new challenges and adventures.)
The point I’m trying to make is that I was kinda lukewarm about starting and running a business, but as soon as I commited and focused on it, a passion was LIT. Amazing. Have you ever had a similar experience?