Myths about Work

Myths - What You Love for Work

“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” This is what Lord Buddha said about Work the way you love or say Love the Work you do. You must be wondering why I discuss this here, because in our day-to-day life I see my teammates and Colleagues saying “Oh again its Monday and we need to go to Office – though this fellow friend’s jump with joy when Friday comes for their 2 day week offs.
Have you ever wondered guys…why you feel so bored or why you kill your thoughts of coming to office after your week ends, it’s because you either don’t love the work you do or the money Company pays you. I can here give you few Myths that you carry within…
Myth #1: Do what you love and the money will follow.
If there’s one thing that holds us back from pursuing our passions, it’s the fear of not being able to take care of ourselves (and our families, if we have them). It’s what keeps us in unfulfilling jobs: the guaranteed pay check that’s enough (or, even harder to walk away from, more than enough).
But this idea ignores the fact that succeeding in anything requires a great deal of work and uncertainty. Risk is always part of the equation. For everyone who has made a good living doing something they enjoy, there are countless other equally talented people who were not able to do it.
This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pursue our passions; it just means we’re more apt to feel satisfied doing it if we define success in terms beyond financial gain. It might mean we need to balance our passion with other work.
Of course, you may create a situation where your passion becomes lucrative; if it wasn’t your strongest motivation, it will be icing on the cake.
Do what you love and enjoyment will follow. Do what you love and you will feel more fulfilled. Do what you love and the money will seem less relevant. These things I’ve found are true.
Myth #2: Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.
With any job or business, you often need to do things you wouldn’t choose to do. I love writing and chatting with people on the blog and social media pages, but I don’t particularly enjoy marketing—and I’m not a big fan of pitching myself for future opportunities. These two things always feel like work, as do the many administrative tasks that keep this site running and growing.
I suspect this comes down to freedom: we tend to best enjoy the things we feel we’re doing entirely by choice. Since work, in any form, requires commitment that supersedes our moment-to-moment whims, we need to know going in that even the most enjoyable paths will have their ups and downs.
If we can do this, we’ll be far more apt to stick with something when it doesn’t meet the romantic image we may have visualized. That’s what it means to do what you love for work: to remember that even if it’s something you’re passionate about, there will be some aspects that feel less exciting than others.
Myth #3: Anyone can decide at any time to do what they love.
This may seem contrary to conventional wisdom, but I’ve learned that it it’s not always smart to drop everything and follow your passion. I’m not saying we should get stuck in the waiting game—forever analysing, planning, and stagnating. It’s true that we can start incorporating our passions into our lives at any times.
History has proven this isn’t universally true. Some of the most passionate, successful people are those who have sacrificed many of their needs to push toward one all-encompassing goal.
But the bottom line remains: not everyone has the luxury of dropping everything and taking a massive risk right now. If you have a family, you may need to do extensive planning to transition to a new field. If you live pay check-to-pay check, you may need to overlap your current job with your passion in order to eventually make a living through the latter as guys like me do every day in our life.
This may seem discouraging—or it could seem empowering if it motivates you to take an honest look at your current situation and make a plan based on what makes sense given your unique responsibilities and needs.
It’s not as simple and catchy as the American Dream, but it’s a far more realistic representation of what’s possible for us.
The important thing is to remember that so much is still possible. We all deserve to enjoy the way we spend our days. If we’re willing to dream, work hard, learn, and navigate uncertainty, we all have the potential to do it.