Follow your passion! Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life! Focus on what you love and the money will follow! How often have you heard these sayings about work? Just figure out what you love to do and your job will be a delight. Every day you’ll enjoy heading to your job. In fact, you’ll never want to retire!
OK, great, so what do I love to do? Read, write, garden, travel, spend time with family and friends, watch soccer games, learn foreign languages, wander around bookstores, and watch favorite shows. Now call me a skeptic, but I don’t think these activities will pay my bills. In fact, I see several problems with these oft-repeated ideas about work.
I’d have to agree with Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus aka The Minimalists when they label following your passion “crappy advice.” The idea that a person with a passion can turn it into a job is not always realistic. It’s not necessarily true that everyone has an inborn passion or that a job using this passion would be a great one. Sure, we all know that one person who wanted to be a doctor or actor or whatever since they were a little kid and became successful doing just that. I’m betting those people are the exceptions to the rule.
When I was growing up, I wanted to be a teacher, actor, dancer, writer, social worker, and more. I eventually became a teacher and enjoyed it, but there were still downsides to the job, and I haven’t done it for my whole career. I believe that all jobs, even great ones, have a downside. The question is whether you can tolerate the bad with the good.
The more I lean into minimalism, the more I re-evaluate what’s important to me. I want a job that is meaningful and aligns with my values. I also want that elusive work-life balance. My problem is not finding my one interest—it’s that I have too many interests! I currently work in education publishing, but I’m also trying to write novels and hope to focus on that a lot more when I retire. Or perhaps I should try something entirely different. Maybe go back to school? But what would I study? Am I too old? Why don’t I know what I want to do when I grow up? I’m already grown!
I know people often experience a mid-life crisis, but I wondered how common it was for a mid-life minimalist to be in such a quandary about one’s professional life. Surely I’m not the only one who is still searching. I posed the question in a couple of minimalism groups, hoping for some insight. After more than one hundred comments later, I see that I’m not the only one by a long shot. More than a few colleagues and friends expressed the same thoughts about the place of work in their lives. It’s comforting to realize that I’m not alone. I may not know what color my parachute is or where it will land, but at least I know I’m not jumping alone.
RESOURCES
Bolles, Richard N. What Color Is Your Parachute? 2018: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers
Cavoulacos, Alexandra and Kathryn Minshew The New Rules of Work: The Modern Playbook for Navigating Your Career
Millburn, Joshua Fields and Ryan Nicodemus Essential: Essays by The Minimalists
Yate, Martin Knock ’em Dead 2017: The Ultimate Job Search Guide
For more resources, go to this page: Resources
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I just finished reading The Good Life. The author suggests rather than one all-consuming career, it’s sometimes better to have a number of smaller enterprises. I think she might be on to something.
I agree. I think it’s been that way for some time now. After all, for many of us, what we liked and wanted to do at 21 is quite different from what we like and want to do a few decades later!
Hi there, do you know who the author of the book is? Many thanks!
Sheryl – There are lots of books that have “Good Life” in the title, so I couldn’t find a definitive answer. You might ask in our Facebook group, Mid-life Minimalists, because Jenna is a member.
You are not alone! I could relate with so much of what you said. I, too, have many interests and I do not see how any are moneymakers. I say be thankful for work that pays the bills, but enjoy all those extra activities. Life is about balance; and I know people who have little interests or hobbies, and that is sad.
See if your library has Marci Alboher’s book “One Person/Multiple Careers” – I really find it helpful as I navigate the big “What do I want to do?” question in my fifties.
Thanks for the suggestion!
I’ve been struggling with this a lot lately. However, the more I declutter, the clearer things seem to be getting.
It’s a process. I’m sure that my continual striving to a more meaningful life with less has helped.
I think this is a common problem at this stage in life. We have accumulated so many skills, talents, & interests that it’s hard to choose. You said you like to write. You absolutely CAN make a living as a writer. You don’t necessarily need to work for someone else in a job. You can have work-life balance, make money, and live comfortably as a self-employed writer. You can be a free-lance copywriter, write a book using all of your blog posts, monetize your blog by teaching (your other skill) a workshop online, etc. Take a moment to stop looking for a job and look at what you already have. I would take your workshop/course. You are very good at helping people and giving us amazing advice about navigating this stage in our lives. This can earn you a substantial living while working as many or as few hours as you please and allowing you that elusive work-life balance you seek. Carpe Diem!
Carrie – I’m definitely working on the writing/freelance idea, but it takes time to build up enough work to make a living at it. Since I’m single, I still need to have some kind of regular paycheck and the all-important health insurance that comes with it. I have monetized the book links, but I don’t really want to start using ads on my blog. I’ve thought about a workshop course, but I’m not quite there yet. Thanks for the ideas and your very kind words!