Thursday, February 3, 2011

What is your favorite activity or hobby?

I heard somewhere the saying: If you do what you like you will never have to work a day in your life

So I did precisely that. I moved to a profession that I KNEW I would like. Time went by. But guess what? The picnic one day ended.

I used to enjoy my work, no doubt. But as I went on, small discontent-ments set in. It is true always, that the "devil is in the details". Take ANY job. For argument sake, let's say a fighter pilot. It is all so exciting and glamorous to be in the air force. So you earn the good grades, go through the physicals, and get through pilot training. And guess what? There is no much work, really. Your country is not at war, or doesn't really need air combatants at the moment. So how do you spend the time? Maybe you won't fight a single dogfight in your life. You will just go around in sorties and do air shows. After a while it is routine. Or perhaps you will not be happy at something. That your commander always makes you do the sorties he likes and never appreciates what you have to share. Or perhaps your colleague is selected for completing the super-class aircraft pilot training and you were stuck with backup pilot training on an old plane. This list is endless.

The key to enjoying work, is to detach from it emotionally. Make a habit to start and finish the most boring tasks without in any way being affected or losing your sense of humor. There. I said it. Your desire "not to work a day in your life" is plain wrong.

6 comments:

  1. I think a lot depends on one's temperament and the type of job. My whole life has been a series of short-lived enthusiasms. I"ll do something I'm passionate about for a year or two and then the novelty will wear off. So then I move on to something else. Even coaching gymnastics which I absolutely adored and did for many years, finally started to feel like a burden. It wasn't the coaching so much, as the competition, which I always had reservations about. So I happily retired. I enjoy happiness and freedom too much to force myself to do something I hate. I do agree with you about detachment. I'm pretty detached even in my everyday life, and it saves me a lot of heartache and worry.

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  2. Wouldn't we all love to find that dream job that doesn't feel like work at all and also pays the bills? Sure, I guess they are out there but I've never found it. Still, I like what I do. I've never felt that life has to be all unicorns and rainbows, though. I was taught that a certain amount of hard work was not just a necessary part of living, but it made the pay off sweeter, too.

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  3. Ciao Tsu! When I commented on your discussion, I didn't read your post. I have now tho.

    Before I took the plunge as illustrator, I worked several other jobs and for each one I had to look for elements so it was bearable for me to go to work. Money wasn't the key factor for me. Colleagues & the ability to learn were more important.

    For me illustrating is what I love to do and am my own boss. To be honest, I have to keep challenging myself to make sure that it doesn't become a routine. I get bored quite easy, but there are tons of artists out there to keep me motivated to learn new things & to get better. I need to 'detach' myself every now and then and think things through and adjust my plans accordingly. The danger that something becomes a routine is always there, because it's easy to think 'Oh I like how things are going now' and before you know it, you don't like what you're doing anymore.

    Nice post!

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  4. enjoyed this post....it is true that when emotions and unmatched expectations come in the way, work is more of a burden....agreed!

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  5. Thx all, appreciate your views

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  6. I used to read some books as hobby. When the same became my syllabus I always wanted to avoid touching them.

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