Driving down the highway towards our next destination, my eyes were on the road and my ears were concentrating on the anticipated voice from the GPS announcing our next exit.

It was a little surprise when my wife in a calm voice said to me, “Your passionate.”

I thought it was rather strange for this sudden impulse of affection in the middle of Washington State Highway 5, but who I am I to question.

“Well thank you.” I responded, “I would say your pretty passionate too.”

“No you dork, your passing it! If you don’t turn now, we are going to miss our exit.”

A little red faced and in silence I made the exit ramp in plenty of time and we were on our way towards the interior of the state.

Well guest what? I am sorry I did this to you and maybe you might thank me someday.

Every time you think about using the word passionate, whether you write or say it, I want you to remember this little humorous story and maybe think twice about using what is becoming a very over used word.

Just look at the next resume that crosses your desk or review random LinkedIn profiles or even read some of the ‘about’ pages of many websites and you see that passionate word used a lot.

For all good reasons. It is a word that easily conveys how ‘passionate’ you are about your career, hobby or your chosen profession. People are very familiar with the word and they ‘get’ your feeling right away. But there are other words that you can consider; dozens!

Instead of “I am passionate about working with numbers.” Try, “I get an emotional charge working with number.”

“I am passionate about the work I do” to “I am devoted to the work that I do”

“I am passionate about photography” to “I am an ardent photographer”

You get the idea.

Choosing the right word can make an incredible difference to your message and being memorable.

For fun here are a few more to try out on your next resume or job interview.

• keen
• inspired
• keyed up
• enthusiastic
• determined
• wired
• raving
• single minded
• moved
• exhilarated

Don’t get me wrong. Being passionate about something is necessary to moving forward, I just feel that there are better ways to say it.