Create Productive Enthusiasm In Yourself And With Others

Enthusiasm is not the same as just being excited. One gets excited about going on a roller coaster. One becomes enthusiastic about creating and building a roller coaster,“ suggests Bo Bennett, and I heartily agree. Getting enthusiastic is a little like learning to breathe. Nobody can tell you exactly how to do it, but without it you’re in big trouble. No one but you can discover the compelling purpose or exciting goal that ignites enthusiasm inside you. Discover your strongest passion (and talent) by noticing the situations in which you are both:r
• Feeling really good about what you’re accomplishing
• Attracting obvious appreciation and smart supportr
For specific ideas about exactly how to find the situations in which the role you play makes you feel enthusiastic and competent, read Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham, which he intended for women yet works equally well for men, I have found.
"It is faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes life worth living" --Oliver Wendell Holmes
1. Enthusiasm is born on the inside yet builds on the outside.
In the daily grind of life you can lose touch with what really matters. There are so many routine decisions to make, so many challenges to be met, and so many burdens to carry, that you may get dispirited and act out an unbecoming side in yourself. However, as you connect with the enthusiasm planted deep within you, you’ll feel it begin to grow and grow. Soon, you’ll be back on track. For example, like smiling can improve your mood, some research shows that acting enthusiastic can make you feel more energized about a situation.
Hint: It’s not the first mile of a long and arduous journey that gets to you — you’re excited about getting started. And it’s not the last mile — you’re thrilled about getting there. The miles that can drag you down are the long and tedious ones in the middle where you can’t see where you are coming from or where you are going.
“None are so old as those who have out-lived enthusiasm” --Henry David Thoreau

2. Enthusiasm grows when you focus on opportunities and allies.
Several farmers in Pennsylvania were sitting in a café, complaining about the increasing cost of electricity and the unpleasant task of disposing of all the waste their cows generated. But the Waybright brothers and their brother-in-law, who ran the Mason Dixon Farms decided to quit complaining about all the manure the cows were generating, and to do some generating of their own — electricity. As you might guess, many of the other farmers initially laughed at the project and some called it “Waybright’s Folly” (and other even less flattering names).
Yet the brothers were able to build a power generator that runs on methane gas produced from heated manure from the 2,000 cows. Generating much of their own power, they cut their annual electricity bill from $30,000 to $15,000. Some nearby farmers felt victimized by their problems and reached out their Congressmen to complain about their miserable circumstances. But soon no one was laughing. The Waybright brothers were selling some of their excess power to their once jeering neighbors. Farmers and agriculture ministers from around the world began to beat a path to the Mason Dixon farms. And their evolving, still successful businesses and can-do spirit have been passed down through the family.
Enthusiasm — with all the good things that go with it — comes when you turn your eyes from the problem or circumstance and focus on the solution and opportunity. Cash can buy, but it takes enthusiasm to sell – or otherwise sway or collaborate.
“Enthusiasm is the yeast that raises the dough” --Paul J. Meyer
3. Enthusiasm thrives around solution-oriented people.
Like smiling, enthusiasm is contagious. Unfortunately negativism and pessimism are far more contagious. It is always easier to believe the worst than to work towards the best. It’s even worse when you’re tired, or have just suffered a severe setback. Seek out positive and competent individuals who also recognize their top talents and passions. Agree to give each other candid, concrete feedback – and a boost. Then enthusiasm is more likely to erupt, endure and be contagious.
4. Enthusiasm recharges itself on momentum.
Jerry Reed’s popular song of many years ago is apt: “When you’re hot, you’re hot!” William Shakespeare put similar sentiments into the mouth of Julius Caesar: “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune, omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries.’”

Hint: Celebrate your greatest victories by plunging into even greater challenges. Take full advantage of the momentum you gain with each hard-earned step