Nothing really worthwhile was ever achieved without enthusiasm. It we are to gain delight in life, or to give delight in life, we must have enthusiasm. Enthusiasm affects our standards of value. Our enthusiasm for the cause we are pleading or the article we are selling communicates itself to those to whom we speak.
Our problem is not so much to
produce enthusiasm as to find the
circumstances which will generate it. It is rather a by product, so to speak of
several factors. Let us examine some of them:
Advt
1. Knowledge:
Our enthusiasm for any subject or concern is in direct proportion to our knowledge of it. As knowledge grows, so does enthusiasm. In the case of a Salesman, for example, it may be in terms of marketing a new product, or selling an old product in an entirely new market. Clearly, before either of these things can be done efficiently, new knowledge of the product or the market must be acquired. Increasing knowledge generates increasing enthusiasm. The more he discovers of the product or of the potentialities of the market, the keener he becomes in his advocacy.
2. Challenging situations:
It is not the easy job, well within our conscious
knowledge of accomplishment , which generates the most enthusiasm. Just because
we can do them and they offer little which is new or exciting or demanding,
they may be done mechanically and unimaginatively.
Life is essentially an adventurous
undertaking, and the zest it affords comes from accepting its challenges, not
in attempting to escape them. Enthusiasm makes difficulty into a delight.
3. Self – respect and personal efficiency:
If we have a proper sense of the
dignity of the human person, then we shall want to do all within our power to
maintain this stature in our own life and work. Creativity is never more
thrilling and satisfying than when directed towards personality itself.
Disappointments and frustrations are
all part of the adventure of living, and are more than compensated for by the
real satisfaction and progress that all real concern with character building
inevitable brings.
4. The social factor:
The student in his room may indeed
know delights on a personal level, and a measure of real enthusiasm, reaches an
even higher level when he begins to share his knowledge and his love of the
subject in animated conversation with
someone else.
The sports fan may find deep pleasure
in reading the autobiographies of some of his
heroes, but it is only when he gets among a crowd of keen spectators
that he begins to shout.
As we confront ourselves with these varied situations of knowledge, of challenging situations, of personal efficiency and of social contact, we shall be providing the soil in which enthusiasm readily thrives.
