We’re told lies about purpose. An object, a purpose. But if you squint hard, your clothes, your shoes and your phone, it’s hardly just for the function, looks or price.
The same is true for work. And maybe that’s why you’re unhappy.
Liz pointed out there are 4 ways to think about your work.
Job – is something do it for money. It doesn’t need to be awesome. It doesn’t have to fulfil you. It’s doesn’t even have to be joyful. It just has to pay.
Career – is like a job, one that you’re passionate about. You’re willingly to put in extra, sacrifice for, because it matters to you.
Hobby – is something you do for fun. There are no stakes, and it doesn’t have to make you famous. You do because it make you feel you’re more than a cog in the machine.
Vocation – the holiest, most scared of all. It is like a hobby, but also mystical. It is a calling, a divine invitation for you to create in this way.
Melville worked as custom inspector while writing Moby Dick. Einstein had his breakthrough while working in the patent office. They both enjoy a life filled with a multitude of hobbies. It was only until much later their vocation became their career.
Industries come and go. If the book business went away, guess what Melville would do.
If you think that just because you have a job, you are not allow pursue your fascinations. You’re probably in a career that you hate (then go get a job), or you’re little lazy and a little lacking in self-accountability.
Don’t surrender your agency and revert to the numbing day-to-day grind of compliance. Think about what those words mean to you, and what kind of life you like to lead. You can do better.
