Passion and the Safety Professional

Check Your Passion

Passion - everyone is passionate about something. Whether it's hobbies, a cause or other activity, it can be reasonably said that the luckiest people are those whose passion is also their work. 

My passion came to the surface when I became part of the safety community. Once I realized that the hundreds of occupational deaths that occur every year were often the result of avoidable errors in judgment, ignorance or bad decision-making,  I had my "light-bulb moment".  Furthermore, the damage done in human terms to businesses, and the costs in tangible and intangible losses can be staggering.

Being a safety professional gives me a sense of purpose and satisfaction that I have not found in other endeavors. Safety is noble. Safety is meaningful and necessary. The practice of Safety is about integrity, leadership, transparency, trust, accountability and relationships. Safety is about effective communication. Safety is about transformation from old to new. Safety is about continuous improvement and cycles of change that never stop. Safety never sleeps or takes a break. Safety is a mindset that, for those who embrace it, follows them home from the job and impacts everything else in their lives. 

In other words, safety is a lifestyle - not merely a rule to follow or something we do in the moment. People who are safe (those who understand risk and act to deal with it) lead fuller, more satisfying lives and effectively influence the people around them to follow their example.

I am passionate about Safety. Are you?