CLASSIC WISDOM FOR LEADERS AND THEIR TEAMS: EPISODE #1.3

Passion, Suffering, and Resilience — Finding Meaning in the Challenges of Leading Teams

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It’s easy today to think of passion as something purely positive — joyful enthusiasm, boundless energy, a perfect alignment of work and purpose.

We hear messages like: “Find your passion, and everything will fall into place.”

But classical wisdom — and the lived experience of great leaders — suggests something deeper and more honest.

The Ancient Meaning of Passion is Different than most view it today

The word passion has its roots in suffering. In German, the word for passion is Leidenschaft, rooted in Leiden, meaning “to suffer.”
In French, Spanish, and Italian, the word comes from a Latin origin — also meaning “to suffer.”

Why would a word that today we associate with joy originally mean something so hard?

Because the pursuit of anything truly worthwhile — whether in leadership, in love, or in life — inevitably demands endurance. You don’t reach your goals without encountering setbacks, doubt, even pain along the way.

We often sugarcoat this reality. Modern advice tends to suggest: “Find your passion and the work will feel effortless.”

But here’s the truth: finding your passion doesn’t spare you from struggle — it simply fuels you through it. Without passion, we may collapse under the weight of hardship.

But if we rely only on enthusiasm — on a shallow excitement — we risk burning out, becoming disillusioned when challenges, as they always do, come our way.

Classical wisdom reminds us that passion and resilience are inseparable.
To care deeply about something — your team, your vision, your craft — is to willingly endure what it demands of you.

The Meaning of Suffering

This idea — that struggle can have meaning — was articulated powerfully by Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist, in his book Man’s Search for Meaning.

He observed that even in unimaginable suffering, people who found meaning in their pain could endure almost anything.

"Those who have a 'why' to live," Frankl wrote, "can bear almost any 'how'."

Now, don’t get me wrong… This isn’t about glorifying pain or pretending that hardship is good in itself.
It’s about seeing what hardship asks of us — and how it can transform us if we let it.

When difficulty comes — as it does to every leader, and every team — we have a choice.

We can ask:
"Why is this happening to me?" — a question that keeps us stuck in blame and victimhood.
Or we can ask:
"What is this moment asking of me?" — a question that opens the door to growth.

What does this mean for your team?

As a leader, you set the tone for how your team relates to difficulty.
If you treat setbacks as failures, your team will too.
If you model resilience —the bend but don’t break mindset - not by pretending it’s easy, but by showing that meaning and progress are still possible — your team learns to stand firm in the face of challenges.

Your team needs you to demonstrate that passion isn’t just enthusiasm when things are going well — it’s commitment through the hard parts.
They need you to acknowledge hardship without letting it define you — and to help them find meaning and purpose even in the struggle.

Often the most profound growth — individually and collectively — happens not despite our wounds, but because of how we choose to carry them and what we learn along the way.

Closing Thought

In your darkest or most frustrating moments, remember:
Meaning transforms everything it touches.

When you and your team see the “why” in your work — and even in your struggles — you unlock a deeper resilience.
You become not just survivors of hardship, but students of it — learning, growing, and moving closer to what truly matters.

So the next time the path feels steep, don’t just ask Why me?
Ask What is this asking of me? — and answer with courage.