The on-air banter of the radio hosts caught my attention.
Host 1: “A new study has found that enthusiasm is back in style.”
Host 2: (incredulous) “Really?”
Host 1: “Uh huh… seems that for a number of years it’s been uncool to be enthusiastic…a low key, indifferent approach to life, displaying minimum emotion has been considered cool but that’s all changing according to this study.”
Me: WHAT???!! ENTHUSIASM OUT OF STYLE?
I’m not yelling I’m…well…enthusiastic.
We expect fashion trends to go in and out….pants skinny to wide, shoes high to low, hair long to short but….. enthusiasm…..out? I guess the good news is that it’s back in! Especially for someone like me who has been referred to as enthusiastic as long as I can remember. Whewwwww.
I was not thrilled with the enthusiastic descriptor in high school and as a young 20 something…it made me feel like Polly Anna after too much coffee. But later, I loved it. It said…she’s passionate, excited, fully committed, on board. Enthusiasm to me is a display of Life. It’s a throw your whole self into it kinda’ thing. I don’t know if the radio hosts were serious because I did try to find the study they referred to and couldn’t but they are not known for punking their audience so I have to believe such a study does exist.
As I consider the concept of enthusiasm being out of style….I wonder…how long was it an outcast?
My mind can’t help but meander back to a time about 15 years ago when the style in television drama was to underplay everything and I mean everything. Remember The X Files? I think they may have initiated the trend. I was an actor then working out of Vancouver where the X files was shot. The 2 leads David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson typified the style – not showing any emotion and hardly opening their mouths as they talked. It broke new ground for television. I remember reading for producers time after time and hearing, “UUmmm…can you bring it down and not show us quite so much emotion?” BUT …wait….I’m playing a mother whose family has mysteriously vanished without a trace…and you want NO emotion? Incredulous, I would look at those producers and think…seriously? OK…To each his own but I’m thinking a situation like this calls for some emotion. I was never cast in those roles.
There is no question The X Files was considered a cool show in its’ time. Maybe that’s where the down swing for enthusiasm began.
I just checked with Miriam Webster, the definition of enthusiasm is: a) strong excitement of feeling. Maybe we could aim to be more enthusiastic as we age. It goes along with the commitment to lifelong learning that washes us with a radiant, youthful glow and uncovering our purpose that inspires us to jump out of bed in the morning.
For now I’m just excited that enthusiasm has made a return and is considered………….. cool!
Me: Yahooooooooo!
“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” Samuel Ullman
reACTION [to change in the response to stimulus]: Enthusiasm
Found this piece… 10 ways to have amazing enthusiasm. …..thought it was worth a look.
Thoughts to ponder….
“Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait.” Henry Ford
“If you have zest and enthusiasm you attract zest and enthusiasm. Life does give back in kind”. Norman Vincent Peale
“It’s faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living.” Oliver Wendell Holmes
“Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation and a pinch of creativity.” Bo Bennnett
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