“Do what you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life”
Of all inspirational quotes you can find all over the internet this is one I dislike the most.
First of all, it assumes that work itself is a bad thing, something you should try to escape from. It’s a concept I disagree with but I am not going to delve on that here; we have an excellent post on our blog that talks more about why this is the wrong way to think about work.
But what irks me most is that it assumes that we can only find happiness and fulfillment in our professional life, if what we do brings out only positive emotions.
It is a very black and white way of seeing things. Because in real life, doing what you love doesn’t mean loving every minute of it. On the contrary – it means working hard and often feeling frustrated, lost, tired and discouraged.
The difference between feeling like this when doing something you love and something that you don’t like and care much about is that, despite those low moments, you still want to carry on.
It’s a bit like being in a couple. I love Cedric more than anything, but I’ll be first to admit that this relationship stuff can feel like hard work sometimes. Yet, it never crossed my mind to look for something or someone else, because I know that what we have is so darn good. The difficult moments are just part of it, in many cases making our relationship stronger.
It is really the same thing with that one and only job/business/career. It will become part of your life in a way a 9-5 job could never be and as a result, you’ll be determined to succeed and work harder.
You will simply care more.
So please, don’t believe anyone who tells you that doing what you love should feel like you’re on a cloud nine all the time. It shouldn’t and it won’t.
But also… do I really have to say it…? This feeling that you’re are finally doing the right thing… That you are in control of your present and your future…
It’s worth every damn second of even the biggest discomfort you will experience on the way.
If you’re cool with that, it’s time to step on the trail.
Start building your imperfectly perfect passion business today
Amazing read as usual :D I already follow some of the tips you suggested but man you never stop learning in this niche ha! Again thanks for the post.
Thank you once again Dominika,
The wisdom here is wonderful; you’re absolutely right, finding one’s passion doesn’t equate to being happy or not needing to work. Finding passion is just a means to an end, whatever that end may be.
Yes! You’ve said it so well – work can be something you love AND loving it doesn’t mean that it’s all rainbows and sunshine. On the way to mastery and fulfillment – it takes effort. Discomfort often leads to growth, and I’d like to think that as long as you’re moving in the direction you want to, it’s all worth it. Thanks Dominika.