“Just as a fresh breeze cleans smoke from the air, so a grateful spirit removes the cloud of despair. It is impossible for the seeds of depression to take root in a thankful heart.” -Andy Andrews (from The Traveler’s Gift)
Enthusiasm may be our most powerful ally in life. It Empowers. It gives us strength to persist when it’s easier to quit. It increases our excellence. It allows us to enjoy life. Enthusiasm does all kinds of wonderful things for us and it is a simple choice that we control.
Enthusiasm empowers. It gives us strength and confidence to attack and achieve our goals. Enthusiastic people see problems and adversities as challenges and don’t allow discouragement to creep in. We adjust our course and keep moving toward the mark with a lesson learned. Enthusiasm lets us see the possible.
The 1980 U.S. Hockey team is a perfect example of unbridled enthusiasm leading to great accomplishment. At the height of the cold war, when our country was going through some tough times, a group of amateur hockey players lifted up a nation. When the Olympics began in Lake Placid, few people considered, let alone believed, that the U.S. team had any chance of winning the gold medal in hockey. At the time, our country only allowed amateur athletes to compete in the Olympics while other countries’ teams were filled with seasoned veterans that, if allowed, would have played and been stars in the NHL.
As the Olympic games progressed, the young U.S. team of college kids kept winning and found themselves in the semi-final game against the USSR. The Russians were considered by most people to be the best team in the world and the favorite to take away gold. The U.S. was a huge underdog. However, because of their enthusiasm and toughness, these scrappy kids found themselves in a game where they had a chance to do something special. In the fantastic “Do you believe in miracles” game, the U.S. team found themselves winning in one of the biggest upsets in sports history.
Two days later, they brought home the gold. In watching these games, the one attribute that was most evident with this team was the enthusiasm that empowered them. They loved the game, the fight, and the challenge, and it showed as they played. Their enthusiasm created something special in Lake Placid that resulted in a gold medal. More importantly, their enthusiasm was contagious and spread like wildfire throughout our country. Ordinary people were filled with pride and had a renewed enthusiasm and empowerment for our country. These young men won with their enthusiasm and turned our country’s attitude around with it.
The 1980 US Hockey team also showed that enthusiasm also gives us the strength to persist. Life is full of trials and setbacks. How we react to these things determines how successful we will be. Enthusiasm allows us to keep life in perspective and enjoy the good in it while fighting through the negative. The ability to be enthusiastic during tough times is the separation between winners and losers. Everyone is enthusiastic when things are going well, but it takes something special to have enthusiasm when things are mundane or during trials in life.
Mike Rowe from the show “Dirty Jobs” said, “Don’t be passionate about the job you’re doing, bring your passion with you to the job you are doing!” This statement resonates because of its profound message. Be enthusiastic and show your passion in every situation in your life. That will give you the strength to persist through any situation you encounter and come out a winner.
Being enthusiastic allows us to increase our excellence because we enjoy what we are doing. When we enjoy the process, hard work toward our goals becomes manageable and we see the big picture and purpose for it. We are only given one shot at this life, so we might as well fight for what we want and enjoy the ride. Enthusiasm increases our accomplishments while apathy increases our alibis. Enthusiastic people are result oriented and care about the end product.
The greatest thing about enthusiasm is that it opens up great possibilities for us. It is a choice that we consciously make and are in complete control of. There is nothing negative about enthusiasm, so there is no reason for apathy or lethargy in our lives. Make the choice to be enthusiastic and make great things happen.
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