The Power of Passion: Why Doing What You Love Matters

It was an interesting real experience of mine recently, and I got somewhat of a shock despite understanding the power of passion.

I was having a blood draw at a clinic. "Ouch," I said to myself without letting it come out. The nurse missed the vein. "Ouch, again!" I thought, hoping, "please work this time." Missed again. According to the clinic policy, I couldn’t receive a third poke at the same location.

I went to a different clinic, anxiously waiting for my third poke with my eyes closed. To my surprise, it was done, and I literally felt absolutely nothing. I praised the nurse, and she simply smiled and said, "I'm doing what I love."

In a single day, I experienced both the worst and best blood draw, and it strengthened a connection I had made before: when you work on what you love—or develop love for what you do—magical things happen.

Higher Self-Fulfillment

When you do what you love, work stops feeling like an obligation and starts feeling like a purpose. People who are passionate about their work experience a deeper sense of satisfaction and meaning in their daily lives. They wake up excited, not dreading the tasks ahead. Whether it’s a nurse who finds joy when she/he helps a patient reduce pain and stress or a software engineer who feels great satisfaction when she/he builds an elegantly architected system, fulfillment comes from knowing that your work aligns with your values, strengths, and interests.

Higher Resilience

Passion fuels perseverance. When challenges arise—and they always do—those who love their work push through setbacks with determination rather than frustration. Passionate individuals are less likely to give up when faced with obstacles because they see difficulties as part of the journey to enjoy instead of dead ends. Instead of being discouraged by failures, they learn from them, adapt, and keep moving forward with renewed motivation. Will power can only go so far and passion is the most sustainable foundation for resillience.

Higher Performance

Loving what you do naturally leads to better results. When you are fully engaged in your work, you bring a level of focus, creativity, and energy that others may lack. You may also achieve the "state of flow" (aka "in the zone", a concept introduced by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi), which is a psychological state where a person is fully immersed in an activity, experiencing focused concentration, deep enjoyment, and effortless progress. Just like the nurse who effortlessly performed the blood draw, those who love their craft go beyond just meeting expectations—they exceed them with ease.

Passion transforms work into something more than just a job. It turns tasks into art, struggles into growth, and efforts into mastery. Whether you are in a clinic, an office, or on a stage, the magic of passion will always elevate what you do—and how you experience it.

(Cover photos by Vecteezy)