Eat, Drink, Work.

On my way home last night, I listened to a radio presenter talk about how people do what they don’t love sometimes just to pay the bills. He had a couple of people call in to talk about what they were doing for a living and comment on if they enjoyed their jobs. Most of the callers said they didn’t and would rather be doing something else. Of course most of the dream jobs were around the creative space – music, arts, on-air personality and modeling.

My husband and I started to talk about this after listening to the show. Do creative people really enjoy a better work life than people who have a regular job? And who’s to say if that banker was a model she would have a better life than she did now? We wondered if people who loved their jobs, given time, will still love their jobs. 

For instance, a guy studied to be an engineer. Shortly after his studies he got his dream job with an engineering firm and for the next 10 years of his life he is doing the job of his dreams. What happens after he has done that job for 10 years? Would he still love it or would boredom creep in? Wouldn’t he start to look for more exciting opportunities where he could reinvent himself and experience the thrills of doing something new?

We also wondered if this was peculiar to the guy with the eight-to-five job or if it resonated with creative people – An artist, a writer or a musician. After 5 releases and hits if the sixth is a colossal flop and he loses the admiration of the fans would he still love to make music or write another book?

Can we then say looking for the ultimate dream job is highly overrated as the love tends to wane over time? 

I tend to agree with this school of thought as I have lived in both worlds of the creative person and the girl with the regular job. This is what I know; the times I experienced the most joy was doing something I was best suited for, something I was skilled at and that offered me the most rewards. And this has informed my career decisions which so far have lead to the most exciting and rewarding times of my work life.

Truth be told, we all aspire to be the great artist that has a million fans and all the awards but reality is most people with a regular job have a better, more stable  life than that artist. So if I were to call in to that radio show and make a contribution it would be; do not focus too much on what you think you’d love to do but what you are best suited for given your experiences, skills and ambition and to go for that job – creative or regular, which you find the most rewarding.

After all “There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God's hand” Ecclesiastes 2:24