*Blows dust off journal*
Doing what you like, is freedom. Liking what you do, is happiness. – Frank Tyger
There is a difference in these words. Many of us are thought in this day and age that doing what we love represents the ultimate in happiness, that if we could do what we want and get paid for it, that our lives would be happy.
I’ve come to believe that is no longer the case for me.
As time goes by, doing what you love becomes a chore. We humans are creatures of variety, of the novelty. We look for new sensations, new things. shiny new everything! This shininess though, is not all-encompassing. We look for the new ways our favourites are interpreted, new ways for what we are interested in is expressed, new ways of marrying and joining similar interests. In that way, we go for the same old, same new.
The music fan, who loves listening to music, looks for the new ways in which is expressed. They look for the new ideas in which sound is taken apart, reassembled, and then compiled together to make new notes in new mediums. The book reader looks for stories that are printed on paper, and then are brought to almost life in a movie, in a game, on the radio.
And so forth.
Doing what we like then, is freedom, because it is not something that gives us joy all the time. Sooner or later, unless what we love change, we will find it boring and insipid, drained of pleasure and life. The same task, done over a thousand times, will eventually tire us. Our muscles remember what our brains once fought to master. There are no more challenges left.
Liking what we do, now that is the secret.
What we do changes from day to day. If we have a job, this means the task at hand. If we are starting our own business, then it encompasses all that we are doing.
Liking what we do, I feel, refers to the business of living. What we choose to do every day, how we choose to survive, that is what determines our happiness. It is also the reason why people often ask another, “Why are you stuck doing what makes you unhappy?”
The answer isn’t to say that you are doing what you hate so you have the freedom to do what you love. I think you have to ask yourself, what would you like to do, that you could probably do the rest of your life?
Hey there, hon!
I see what you’re saying, but I’d like to counter with a quote of my own.
“Three things are needed for job satisfaction:
1. Autonomy. You must have some degree of CHOICE as to what you’re doing at any given moment.
2. Variety. Standing there like a robot doing the same thing a thousand times over can make anyone dull and miserable.
3. Tangible results. Having something to SHOW for your efforts really makes all the difference in the world.
Money is a side note; so long as you have all of these, it’s just about certain you’ll be happy with your work. Sadly, most jobs are made without even ONE of these being considered.”
Would you say you find that relevant? It’s all very well to like the subject of your work, but that doesn’t mean you have to like how you’re made to go about it.
Oh, I don’t disagree with that at all! I wasn’t thinking of doing the same thing the same way the rest of my life would make me happy. It was more about finding the joy and pleasure in what you are doing at that particular moment. After all, at the end of the day, you are going to work because you made a choice to do so. If it really is as miserable as people say it is, why continue doing so?