Success is Bipolar – Competence + Passion

I had been wondering why Nature evolved human-beings, principally working with one hand only, usually right, with the other hand in the supportive role only, and why the heart is usually on the left side of the chest, until I discovered that success is a bipolar phenomenon – flow of energy in between two poles of competence and passion, like the two hands of the person. We all recognize that right hand of a person is symbolic of his/her competence while the passionate heart is closer to his/her left hand. Of course, this statement is only metaphoric, but the reality of an enterprise is the need of both – the competence and the passion, for an achievable goal in hand.

Before going into pairing competence with passion, let us understand these two attributes in comparison to their look-alike words ‘aspiration’ and ‘craze’ to clear out the path to success from weeds of ambiguity and confusion. A comparison of will and passion is also looked into.  

Competence and Aspiration

Some persons think that if they can aspire for some achievement, they qualify to be called competent for the achievement. Indeed, there is no direct relationship between competence and aspiration. A competence is earned and grows with practice, while an aspiration is an expense with or without a possession. The old popular teaching ‘First Deserve, Then Desire’ has a universal appeal – none should aspire without being competent.

A competence is acquired through education, training and/or experience in the subject field. An aspiration is sourced either from a need or from an imitation of being somebody else. The competence fuels the achievement.   

Passion and Craze

Words ‘passion’ and ‘craze’ are often considered to mean the same sense. The principal difference between a passion and craze is that the first is based on reasoning while the second is blind. A passion pursues a strategy for the desired achievement while the craze is self-righteousness without authority. Passion is warm and long-lasting while the craze is hot and transient. The passion derives energy from competence while the craze is driven by a desire of the person.

On a failure, a passionate person tries to learn from it and fights back with adequate armaments and ultimately wins. A crazy person goes into depression or becomes insane on confronting a failure, and may commit a crime like suicide or assassination of the cause of craze or the failure.   

Will and Passion

Will and passion, two similar attributes of a person, have a thin blurred demarcation line between them, with the passion being more intense than the will. The will induces the person to tread a set path to the possible achievement, while the passion inspires the person to discover or invent new ways to achieve the goal. Therefore, a passion is often linked to and is considered indispensable for an innovation.    

Competence and Passion

Competence precedes a passion, yet two pair well for being compatible and leading to success. Competence is an attribute of a person capable of performing a function well but it does not force the person to make efforts for an achievement. Passion of the person drives him/her to act with courage, conviction and confidence with the goal in focus. When it comes to innovative achievements, nothing works better than a passion supported by the competence of the person in the field.