Passion and Emotion. What’s the Difference?

All of us have heard about passion and emotion. These words are often used interchangeably. People might say, “I’m passionate about something” or “I get emotional about something”.
Have you ever thought that these two have a world of difference between them?
There are four major differences between passion and emotion, and they are:
1. Passion is constant, emotion varies.
2. Passion is effort-driven, emotion is based on the result.
3. Passion comes from within you, emotion is triggered by external factors.
4. Being passionate is positive, being emotional is usually negative.
Allow me to elaborate a little:
Passion is constant, emotion varies
If you are passionate about gardening, you will sow the seeds, water them, nourish them, and take good care of the plants. The whole journey is executed with the same amount of energy and dedication, and you will find happiness in the process and it is constant. If you’re emotional, your emotions depend on whether the plants produce beautiful flowers/ fruits or not and it varies.
Passion remains constant and the journey is repeated over and over again with the same drive. Whereas your emotion varies based on the end result.
Passion is effort driven, emotion is based on the result
If you are passionate about your job, you will put in your heart and soul, and do your best because you enjoy doing so. Whereas when you are emotional about your job, you will put in your best with an expectation of an increment or a promotion. Your happiness or unhappiness solely depends on the outcome. In this case, you can clearly see that passion is effort driven and emotion is based on the results.
Passion comes from within you, emotion is triggered by external factors
If you are passionate about cooking, you will find joy in the process and it’s a drive that comes from within you. In the same scenario, if you feel happy only when your cooking skills are acknowledged or appreciated by your loved ones, then the external factors are playing a role in making you happy or unhappy. Here, it proves that passion comes from within you, and emotion is triggered by external factors.

Being passionate is positive, being emotional may have negative connotations.

If you’re really passionate about your career, your desire to work hard will be more. You’ll taste success when you’re passionate about what you’re doing. Being passionate is positive. At the same time, when you are emotional, you tend to lose your composure. This affects your logical reasoning and decision-making ability, thereby affecting your productivity. Being emotional may have negative connotations.

To conclude:

“If you don’t manage your emotions, then your emotions will manage you” – Deborah Rozman.
Being a slave of emotions is not good as they compromise our judgment.
As Joseph Campbell says – “Passion will move men beyond themselves, beyond their shortcomings, beyond their failures”.
Overcome your emotions and be passionate to unfold your true potential.