Passion, Purpose and a Plan

My seven-month-old son just started army-crawling a few weeks ago, and this new-found independence has made him less content when being held. He gets stir-crazy, squirming and struggling to get out of my arms. It’s like trying to hold onto a frantic puppy.

But where is he going to go? He can’t walk, he can’t talk. I’m almost certain he doesn’t have a job lined up or even any prospects. He was born at the very beginning of the Covid shutdown, therefore he knows exactly no one outside of our family. So, it is not like he has a getaway driver waiting for him outside; and even if he did, he can’t reach the door latch to let himself out of the house. He has a lot of energy and enthusiasm, but no strategy. Lots of passion, but no purpose or plan.

Passion alone only gets you so far. Without a clear objective and a game plan to execute, excitement and desire rarely do much to propel you forward and often leave you spinning your wheels. And eventually, after a long enough time of aimless pursuit of a hazy objective, the passion dies out too.

Passion is important, even essential. But alone it is not enough. Without a purpose and a plan requiring intentional, deliberate action, many will end up like my son, indiscriminately flailing about in frustration with no place to go nor a path to follow.

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