One of the first pearls of wisdom I understood was the difference between writing with passion and writing with confidence. There is a stark difference, so let me give these two words due justice. By way of Dictionary.com, passion means any powerful, compelling, or emotional feeling, a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything. Confidence, meaning, coming from Dictionary.com, means full trust, belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing. It also means belief in oneself and one’s powers or abilities, self-reliance, and assurance.
Now, I know you are probably asking yourselves, “What is Eboney talking about?” When writing, your confidence is not in your passion but in your content, product, and ability to produce. Your confidence is in the results, your response, your solutions, and your work.
Think about it. A person can be passionate and never produce. Passion can fizzle out and die down. Passion does not complete. Passion cannot do what your confidence has been built to do. Passion does not equate to tenacity, which means persistence. Passion can only get you so far, whereas confidence can be stretched beyond its limit. When you’re confident, you go further, you go the extra mile, you know what’s ahead, and you go in prepared, stocked, and ready. Passion stirs you, but confidence will advance you.
I’ll end on this, as you grow into a phenomenal professional with your writing, pull on what you know you can do. Pull on what you are rich in and what you are stocked with. I want to see your confident work that puts the shiny red bow on your passion to produce and preserve. Until next time, remember to Make Your Mark
~Eboney