I love passionate people—people who throw themselves into their work with every last bit of energy they have. To them, everything about their work is important. It’s serious business, and they drive hard to form the world in an image they’re proud of.

However, with passion comes peril. If everything is important, you tend to get worked up over every issue, no matter how large or small. You feel it necessary to stand up for what’s right in every instance. You might even seek to transform situations by injecting yourself into them, even if you don’t really have a say in the matter.

This often results in falling on your sword for many issues, or sticking your beak where it doesn’t belong and getting involved in problems that are larger than you.

As usual, I’m going to give you a helpful little tool to help you avoid all those nasty sword gashes. All you have to do is ask and answer one simple little question:

“What’s the upside?”

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