In my recent post on Inspiration, I mentioned the word “Enthusiasm.” This one gets my word nerd juices flowing, too. “Enthusiasm” can be traced all the way back to ancient Greek. It’s made up of the two words en-, meaning “in” and theos, meaning “God.” Put together, they form a Greek word enthous, meaning God within. As a verb, the word is enthousiazein, meaning “to be possessed by or filled with a god.” It was often associated with ecstatic or intense emotion.
It is that sense of excited emotion that lingers in the meaning today. Here are a few great quotes about enthusiasm:
- “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Enthusiasm is the electric current that keeps the engine of life going at top speed” –W. Clement Stone
- “Knowledge is Power, Enthusiasm pulls the switch” –Ivern Ball
- “If you’re not fired with enthusiasm, you’ll be fired with enthusiasm!” –Vince Lombardi.
There is an energy around enthusiasm. What happens when you are around enthusiastic people? It affects you. At least it raises your energy level if not making you enthusiastic as well.
I love it! As Susan Rabin says, “Enthusiasm is contagious. Be a carrier!”