by Donald Sevilla
PASSION VS DESIRE
” While desire is general and innate, it’s about wanting something more and better for ourselves and our family. Passion is specific and can be developed. It’s excitement about how we get that more and better – and enthusiasm about what that more and better is.”
Desire is anchored on our needs and wants while passion is the motivation that drives us to get to where we want to be. People who are passionate about the things they do, often end up achieving more and being successful.
They work not just for the sake of working but because they love what they do. Similarly in politics, those who have a passion for public service generally do more than those who simply desire it.
But improving the lives and welfare of our people is not just simply about ourselves and the need to do it.We must be imbued with the motivation to get it done.This love for service can be developed as we get inspired by the work of others for others.
A life of public service is characterized by selflessness and genuine concern for other people’s welfare while being given the mandate to do so.
As people trust their leaders, a greater responsibility is given them, more than the rest of us. More is expected as people look up to them to take the lead.This is the challenge they must face and hurdle.
Yet, governance is also about us. Our leaders reflect the choices we make. When we choose less we cannot expect more. The woes and ills of our society are something we unwittingly bring upon ourselves when we choose poorly.
Thus by now we must learn our lessons on choosing wisely and well. We must look beyond those who just want to serve and lead us. We must look for the enthusiasm in each and every one of them.
For public service is not merely wanting to do it. It must be borne out of a burning desire to help others that motivates and guides us. While putting one’s energy and resources into a life of service is ideal and what we must look for in those that present themselves to us, the reality is far from ideal.The least we can do is identify those who have the passion to get things done rather than merely desiring it.
“Good governance is not simply about how many foreign trips we make in the hopes of securing the future but in the happy faces of our people whose lives we managed to improve in the present! “