I wrote a post a long while back about a phrase my mother used to say;
Do what you love + the money will follow.
I took this as gospel + have spent much of my life since childhood trying to figure out what it is that I really love. The one thing I’ll be able to spend my days doing in ease + joy…+ because I will love what I do, the joy will flow through + people will be drawn in + I will shine + be brilliant.
Wait. What?
That’s not how it works.
If I want to be successful at something I get to work hard at it. I may love what I do, but if I don’t do the ‘do’ part I’m not really going to get anywhere in life with it.
+ sometimes you just get to work hard, because the hard work needs to get done. Not everyone is going to know what it is that they love or are passionate about. So in the meantime, until that gets figured out, do what you need to do to be a responsible, self-sufficient individual. Because doing the work – whatever work – helps lead you to where your heart truly lies. + once you know where your heart truly lies, you work at it, you learn, you put in the time, especially on the days where doing what you love has the same tedium that doing what you didn’t love had. Not every day is a glittery sparkle ride on a unicorn through rainbows.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRVdiHu1VCc&w=560&h=315]
I’m on this journey to live in simplicity, authenticity, + purpose. That’s what this is all about. So I’m reading + learning, + being open. I’m making decisions that are in alignment with the life I want to live.
It seems we’re in an era where we are able + ‘supposed’ to find our calling. The metric for job satisfaction is changing + it is a reflection of this changing world.
[ted id=618]
But a couple of things.
- If I’m not grateful + happy with the person I am now + the life I have now, I never will be. There is a balance of striving for more + better while embracing your present.
- You don’t sit around waiting for your purpose to find you. It doesn’t work that way. You wake up + do what you need to do to be a responsible, self-sufficient adult + you do it with pride, integrity, + hopefully even optimism. Know that all work + jobs have meaning.
- I get to do the hard work, whether I love what I do or not. + if I love what I do + work hard at it, success (as defined by me 😉 ) will follow.
- Figuring out your life’s purpose is a luxury + a responsibility. Not everyone in this world is in a place where they are able to worry about finding their purpose. They just are trying to put food on the table. Keep their family safe. There is purpose + meaning to that, most definitely, but in a much different way than how I try to find meaning + purpose + a way to contribute in my safe + stable life. I have all the options – so many options – the only thing in my way is myself. It is a luxury to worry about what I should be using my life for. But it’s also a responsibility to try + use my life in the best way possible. Because I can. I am able to. I have a responsibility to.
I try to not forget that while I’m trying to get to a place where I’m satisfied + fulfulled + doing my purposeful life’s meaning, I get to wake up in the morning, work hard at whatever job I get to do.
More + more, I’m trying to say “I get to” instead of “I have to”.
I get to wake up in the morning.
I get to go to work.
I get to buy groceries + make sure there is food to eat at breakfast, lunch, + dinner.
I get to clean my house.
Not, “i have to”.
I get to.
I don’t know who said it first, but this is where I first read about the impact changing this phrase can make in your life.
Everyone wants to live a life of meaning + purpose, but where you find it is up to you, + the life you yearn for will require putting in the hard work.