Channeling Your Fire Service Passion
Knowing your purpose will help the younger generation define theirs
Why did you choose the fire service as a profession? Many people’s jobs are not who they are, but simply what they do. Their passions lie outside the workplace; their jobs are little more than a means to an end.
Hopefully — because the fire service is much more than a job — being a firefighter isn’t simply a means to an end for you. But have you ever asked yourself, “What is my purpose in the fire service? What am I here for?”
Do you remember when you were first hired into the fire service? I’d bet you were very excited, full of pride and would do anything the department asked of you. You finally reached your goal through perseverance, commitment, hard work and a unique passion for your newly chosen career.
I’ve heard it said that people who are passionate about what they do may act too quickly, and because of that make uninformed or poor decisions. I agree — if they’re acting only on passion. If they’re acting with passion and a defined purpose, their decisions will usually be sound.
In fact, passion is a key component in achieving success because passion creates purpose; purpose in turn creates focus; focus leads to results; and results will usually move you closer to the fulfillment of your goals. Many fire service leaders have expressed the belief that we’re hiring an entirely different kind of firefighter today. I realize our new recruits are from a different generation and that their values may be different from ours. But are we saying they have no drive, no passion and no purpose? I don’t think so. I believe the new generation of firefighters is passionate and they want to understand their purpose — and it is our responsibility as fire service leaders to share our values, traditions, passions and purpose with them.
Let’s face it: If you don’t understand your own purpose — why you’re in the fire service — then you won’t be able to convey to your department members the importance of training, leadership, management, command, personal safety and doing the right thing. Put simply, you won’t be able to help them find their own individual purpose.
Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your fire service life. We were made to have meaning. This is why people try dubious methods, like astrology or psychics, to discover “the meaning of life.” When your fire service life has meaning, you can bear almost anything; conversely, without meaning, nothing is bearable. As Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose-Driven Life,” wrote, “The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose.”
So, how do you know if you have fire service purpose? Those without a clear purpose have no foundation on which to base decisions, allocate their time or use their resources. They make choices based on circumstances, pressure and mood. They often try to do too much, and that causes stress, fatigue and conflict. Remember: It’s impossible to do everything people want you to do.
Many fire service people are like gyroscopes, spinning around at a frantic pace but never going anywhere. Without a clear purpose, you’ll keep changing directions, jobs, relationships or other externals, hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness.
Those who do have purpose are energized and focused. Their efforts are concentrated on what’s important to them. They’re effective precisely by being selective.
If you want your fire service life to have impact, focus it! Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Prune away even good activities, and do only what matters most. Never confuse activity with productivity. You can be busy without a purpose, but what’s the point?
Don’t be that person who has first-class allegiances to second-class causes. Instead, live for the next generation of firefighters by passing on positive behaviors and demonstrating to others what fire service purpose looks like.
Firefighters are great talkers, and they’ll tell everyone who will listen what they’re going to do. However, I would like to see these same firefighters put just a little bit of action behind their words. Demonstrating your passion for the job and defining your purpose will have a positive effect on the fire service of tomorrow.
