Comments on: Don’t Do What You Love to Do for a Job

By: Hannah

Hannah — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 15:30:11 +0000

oh yeah huh… I used to visit your site quite often too… nakaka discourage noh? but I’m sure you’ll discover more things to love as long as you explore. or maybe try to blog again.. sometimes, an urge to write for the blog just happens. you never know 🙂

By: Aimee

Aimee — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:10:56 +0000

I couldn’t agree more..happened to me. 🙁 I love writing but when my job required me to do all those documentation….I lost interest in writing….7 months without a blog post in my site….dunno if I would regain my passion for writing in my blog. 🙁

By: aRj

aRj — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 01:02:04 +0000

“I’d rather love the things I love. Have a job, whatever it is and learn to love it when you can.”

hmmm…I like that. (where’s the like button here? haha)

By: Hannah

Hannah — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 11:11:18 +0000

Hey @aRj ^_^ I am so pleased that you wrote down your insights on this! I too have been pondering on the “perfect job” (for me at least) and your input adds a lovely point to this whole discussion. Ako I’d rather love the things I love. Have a job, whatever it is and learn to love it when you can.

By: aRj

aRj — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 07:51:00 +0000

Awesome post. I just discovered this blog today, and this particular one was very timely for me. So thank you.

This is something I have wrestled with since leaving the corporate world 5 years ago. While I do agree with the whole notion of “doing what you love to do for a living,” I don’t think its for everyone. You’ve brought up an excellent point– there are perils in pursuing this notion. Not only do you face the risk of losing interest in it due to people or politics, but even worse you may find out that you’re actually not that good at it and you aren’t able to generate any income out of it. I have learned this lesson firsthand.

The romantic in me says: “If you love what you’re doing, then neither people nor politics can stop me from pursuing it.”

But the pragmatic in me says: “If you aren’t any good at what you do, maybe its meant to be a hobby/interest and not for earning a living.”

Like you, i agree that work is work. Nobody ever said that you HAVE to enjoy your work. In fact, in the book of Genesis, it says that work is part of the curse. If you do get to do what you love for a living, then you are one of the lucky few. If you want to do what you love for a living, then get a stock up on good ol’ commitment & resolve, and get good at it. (Good enough that someone would pay you for it) But if you aren’t willing to take that leap, then you simply have to learn to love your current job.

Simply put, you have two choices.
A) Do what you love. (but know the risks entailed)
B) Love what you do. (learn to love and deal with the work you are doing)

By: Hannah

Hannah — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 01:03:58 +0000

Thank you for taking time to share your thoughts ^_^

By: Hannah

Hannah — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 01:02:28 +0000

Good point 🙂

By: Hannah

Hannah — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 01:02:11 +0000

I agree. it also boils down to the people you work with… Let’s conquer the world! hahaha

By: Micamyx

Micamyx — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:09:58 +0000

I think it also boils down to the people you’re working with. A good and healthy working environment is rare nowadays, but it will make you more productive. I think I’ll make a good boss lol

By: Jeff C.

Jeff C. — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 02:58:18 +0000

I see it as taking the good with the bad. Any job you work in, the politics, and the loss of interest unfortunately comes with it. One can ask why deal with that stuff at a job you enjoy? Because they don’t matter. When one is passionate and commit at a job they love, facing the politics and those people becomes another tiny hurdle.