The Downside of Doing What You Love
|
Posted By: How May I Help You NC on March 26, 2018 By Dan Schawbel There are countless articles written about the importance of doing what you love and it’s how many of us define success. Most successful people I interview recommend “following your passion”, but there’s a dark side that is never discussed. When you love your work, you may perform better and be happier, but it simultaneously becomes addictive and consuming. You trade work for time spent with family and friends. You decide not to go on vacation or do work on vacation. You avoid being present around others because your mind is still doing work. You become burned out after hours, days, months and years constantly working on projects you love. While I have enjoyed the freedom, gratification and passion that has come with my entrepreneurial journey, I realize that there are many tradeoffs to living this life. When you do work you’re not passionate about, it’s easier to have balance between your personal and professional life. You would gladly stop working on a project after you leave the office because you don’t genuinely care about the result or have a burning desire to improve it. When you stop working, you allocate time to personal activities, friends and family. By loving what you do, there is no balance because you view your work as your hobby. Instead of stopping a project once you get home from work, you continue pursuing it until you wake up the next morning. Of course, if you hate your job, you won’t be happy, healthy and it could create toxic relationships, but loving your job can be unhealthy too! The old saying “do what you love and the money will follow” isn’t necessary true either. A lot of passions don’t end up turning into a profit. Just because you write a book doesn’t mean you’ll have any readers and people aren’t lining up to advertise on your podcast so quickly. We admire those who can live a life of freedom, yet those who live this life don’t discuss the tradeoffs that occur when pursuing and maintaining it. For instance, I was invited to my friends bachelor party in Austin, but chose to interview Richard Branson in San Francisco over it. If I wasn’t passionate about what I do, I would have chosen the former, which will have enhanced the relationships that matter more than career opportunities. The first step in being able to manage a passionate career is to recognize work creeping into your personal life and then being able to properly integrate both in a harmonious way. While we block our calendar for work calls, interviews, and meetings, why not do the same for personal activities? When you treat work as your only hobby it can become dangerous. Think of other activities you’ve enjoyed in the past and then put your time, money and attention on them. Instead of falling into the ‘passion trap’, realize that you don’t have to live that way. Start to treat your work as work and not as a hobby and separate your time so you can be happier, healthier and make time for the things that actually matter in life – human relationships! http://danschawbel.com/ If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
 |
How May I Help You NC
Management, See Moss Interactive Bellarmine University class of 2021 Member Since January 2011 |
Comments
More From This Author
Latest Graduate School Info
 |
Graduate Student Fellowship Opportunity!We, at www.stemuscenter.org, just completed our first two informational sessions on Research Fellowship opportunity for STEM and Social Science doctoral students.
The mission of our center is to te ...more
Manisha Maurya • 1,578 Views • October 23rd, 2024 |
 |
4 Habits for Success in Online SchoolOnline education has become an increasingly popular option for students over the years, especially due to the current global pandemic. However, succeeding in online school takes more than just a good ...more
Anica Oaks • 1,857 Views • February 1st, 2024 |
Popular Graduate School Info
 |
People Judge Your Intelligence Based on the Tone of Your Voice and How Fast You Speak
Do you want people to think you are intelligent? Has someone ever told you “You’re much smarter than you look.”?
No doubt it can sting to be perceived as less intelligent, particularly when you ...more
How May I Help You NC • 31,030 Views • June 12th, 2017 |
 |
How to Improve Your Reading Comprehension If youd like to improve your reading comprehension, try the SQ3R method. This is an acronym that means: Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review.
Heres how it works:
Survey Your Text
Prior t ...more
How May I Help You NC • 24,336 Views • June 12th, 2017 |
 |
Never procrastinate and always free time…..One blog I read regularly is by Leo Babauta, called zen habits. Essentially, he writes all about simplifying your life. A while ago, Scott Young was a guest blogger for Babuata’s website and wrote a p ...more
How May I Help You NC • 13,902 Views • April 19th, 2018 |
 |
MVSU to host Graduate Expo March 1Why should you consider an advanced degree? How will you finance your graduate education? What program of study is the best fit for you?
For the answer to these questions and many more, attend Mis ...more
How May I Help You NC • 12,857 Views • February 27th, 2018 |
 |
How Academic Parents Can Find Time to ExerciseA question that often comes up when I do campus workshops on work/life balance is how and when busy academic parents can find time to exercise. As we get older, it becomes increasingly important for u ...more
How May I Help You NC • 12,474 Views • April 19th, 2018 |
