People seem to be obsessed with the idea of having a "dream job", having a fulfilling and rewarding career or doing the work they love for a living. There has been some debate on this topic. I, for one, am an avid follower of Steve Pavlina's blog, which focuses on personal development but talks in great deal about finding your life's purpose and refusing to work a job. While I do agree that the corporate work world is pretty much a life-sucking machine created to develop brain-dead slaves or greedy liars, I do not believe avoiding working a job is the ultimate solution.
First of all, okay, yes we really do need people to take out our trash and clean our toilets. It is argued that if everyone found their life's purpose, there would be no one to do such things. Sometimes I believe this is not true, there are people out there who are perfectly happy janitors and trash collectors. In fact, I know this is true. However, I still ask myself, but are they really living their purpose?
And, does everyone really have a purpose anyway? A career purpose, that is. I know a lady, whom shall remain nameless, who is near 50 years old now and is completely content living a simple life working a simple desk job. She never questions whether she wants more out of life, or "if it all means something," or if she is meant for something bigger and better, etc. I try really hard to analyze the events of her life and figure out what her purpose might be. What her grand lesson or goal may be. I truly cannot think of any career that might suit her any better than her simple desk job. Perhaps her grand plan is to live modestly. So I believe there are those who do not have a career path for their life purpose at all.
I have chosen to go into the Human Resources field because I think the dishonesty and cutting corners in business is a problem. In Human Resources, I can be a part of the solution. I can help people enjoy their jobs and help managers work better with their employees and create an entire team looking out for the best of their company. Maybe if there were more companies like this, people wouldn't hate their jobs so much. While some may say this sounds like a life's purpose job, this is not my life's purpose.
My life's purpose is to write. I know this because I have known it my entire life. Writing is in my blood. It is the essential language of my soul. I understand the world through words, and through words the world understands me. On paper, I am a magnificent force with a powerful message. Without paper, I am just a little hen. However, there is no way on Earth I could be a writer as a career. It would completely kill my creativity. I cannot deal with that kind of pressure or deadlines to force out my creativity. I need room and time and space to perfect my work. It has already taken me 12 years to just come up with the idea and outline of my first book.
For me, I make a hobby out of my life's purpose. My career is simply something I feel strongly about. Artists constantly fall into the trap of becoming a "starving artist" because they insist on making a career of their life's purpose. This is only discouraging to your craft. This puts too much pressure on your creativity, and wears at your self esteem. There are many things that artists can do to make a living besides create art, and they can still create their art on the side! It will be much more enjoyable. This doesn't only include artists, it includes any profession that one might feel they would LOVE to do as a career, but can't for one reason or another. Like they would have to travel, or they don't have enough time, money, patience, support; or their spouse or family would disapprove, or they have kids. It doesn't have to be one simple formula of career = purpose. Make it something that suits you better. Perhaps... happiness = (career + √personal values ) + (purpose + creativity)
Happy calculating! :)
Your perspective is a rather refreshing one. Much of adulthood I feel is spent pursuing a desired career. Not so say that this is right or wrong, it's just that developed societies have simply 'developed' into this way of life and purpose of life is such and ominous subject that it has become construed into job/career connotations. We are told so often to make a career out of a passion or love, to fulfill our purpose. While this is not bad advice, one might consider life's purpose as something beyond annual earnings. I for the longest time worked tirelessly to make a career out of my passion and love. I knew that my purpose was to design cars. I know now that life's purpose holds meaning far beyond success in the 'real world'. I love to design and tune cars but is that my life's purpose? My father would contend that it's just a hobby. I would contend that to separate career and purpose with an addition symbol makes for a powerful equation of happiness.
ReplyDelete