Why “Just do what you love” can be bad advice.

Do you find yourself feeling discouraged when you hear. “Do what your passionate about, and you will never work a day in your life”.

It seems like such well meaning and great advice. Unfortunately that advice can create a belief that we are somehow doing it wrong.

That if we don’t take a job because we’re passionate about it then we are falling short.

There are lucky people that do know what they love to do and they are still frustrated and burned out sometimes. They think they’re doing it wrong too.

We torture ourselves over it.

The advice is not helpful for a lot of us.

Frankly – I think we can agree to let ourselves off the hook from that pressure, ok?

My career story is a good example. Like many of you I graduated high school and went to college. I picked a major I thought I might like but i wasn’t really sure. I got an internship to build my resume. I took a job that I thought was a good job. I didn’t want to move back home after school so when I got hired, I was excited that I could pay my own rent, buy my own food and afford a car.

It wasn’t the work that excited me most. It was earning a living. That part was really great.

At work, I did the best I could, tried to be helpful to people around me and I wanted to perform well.

I was thrilled when I found a higher paying opportunity or got a promotion. Why? Because I could afford a better apartment, car, go on vacation and afford my hobbies.

My corporate career progressed and there were things about It I really liked. I built relationships with my colleagues. I enjoyed cooperating with others and going for a goal. I took pleasure in finishing a project. I got excited when my team and I did well. And I relied on my paycheck to keep up my joys outside of work.

Sometimes I found myself wondering if I “should” be doing something else at work. What IS my true passion that I “SHOULD” be persuing so that I “never work a day”.

The truth is I work to provide for basic needs of food, shelter, and community AND there are things at work that I find satisfying too.

I think Im not very different from the majority of the workforce.

We aren’t exploring our passions before getting a job. We work to earn, and then we like to uplevel our lives. Better food. Better shelter. Fun activities. Vacations.

Only when we are supporting ourselves do we start to explore how we can uplevel our careers.

It’s ok to like your job because it allows you to afford a home and a few luxury items. That is a beautiful thing. It is also great to like things about your work.

You can manage your career and work towards both.

As you earn a living, learn more about what you like to do. Steer your career in a way that lets you do a few more of those things and a little less of what you dislike.

The key is not finding your passion first. The key is finding the good in what you already have while you make a living. And the beautiful news is that you dont have to change anything about your life or job or boss to find it. All you have to change is what you focus your attention on. Focus on gratitude for what you have, and working to improve things from there.