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
A combination of many factors - but mostly; bills will not wait for that dream to come true - so many just trudge on hoping that someday......
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