Actually Living or Just 'Being?'

xstarxdustx
xstarxdustx Posts: 591 Member
in Chit-Chat
Are you doing what you were 'born to do' in your current profession and truly loving it or is it something to just get the bills paid?

If you've found what you were 'meant' to do in life, how'd you find it?

If not, do you believe it is just a bunch of hogwash? In other words, do you believe there is some truth to the saying that if you find what you were 'meant to do,' you never work a day in your life?
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Replies

  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    I was not one of those fortunate people who ever found their true passion and were able to make a living at it. At the time I was a single mother raising my kids, I had a 'job' that paid the bills, and allowed me to take care of my children and have a life with them away from my job. They were my priority. The job was just a paycheck.

    That said, I did have opportunities to feed my passion for singing, and even was paid a little at times, but I knew it would never be a full-time profession for me. And that way, it never became a 'job' that I had to do. I could sing when and where I wanted to, and was a slave to no one while doing so.
  • aquarabbit
    aquarabbit Posts: 1,622 Member
    I am incredibly lucky to say I am doing what I was born to do. I knew I wanted to be an artist when I was 3 and never changed my mind. I went to school for it, and am now doing it. I am sitting in my studio right now. Although now I feel a little guilty about being on the computer instead of working on my new painting.:grumble:
  • kdhamner
    kdhamner Posts: 309 Member
    I've known since I was in the 4th grade I wanted to work with children. I taught preschool for a couple years, and now I'm the Executive Director of the preschool. I absolutely LOVE my job and look forward to going to work every day. I am truly blessed.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,148 Member
    What is this "paying the bills" concept? Is it something to do with the "employed" malarkey the kids are talking about these days?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Paying the bills. My job is the one aspect of my life that I am not happy with. I know I need to change it by that is a whole other issue I am not ready to face so I deal in other ways.

    ETA - I try to actually live in the rest of my life. My job has some great aspects but some really bad as well.
  • xstarxdustx
    xstarxdustx Posts: 591 Member
    Great feedback so far. Thank you everyone.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I do believe that there are thing we are meant to do/enjoy more. Unfortunately it took me many years to figure out what those things might be for me. I had already chosen my profession.
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    I love my job. I love being in 'sales', managing accounts, and being a trusted consultant to Fortune 500 companies.

    However, I never thought I would be in the particular industry I work. Most people in my industry (Risk Management / Insurance Claims) don't go to school and plan their career around this profession, they usually 'fall into it' by accident.

    However, I have been in sales in many different industries-- and I can honestly say that I was born to be in sales. I'm extremely persuasive, and have a knack for reading people. I enjoy the 'high' I get from closing a deal, and I'm extremely competitive and always want to be the best.

    When I was a kid, I really thought I was either going to be a lawyer or be a movie star (seriously). LOL
  • xstarxdustx
    xstarxdustx Posts: 591 Member
    I do believe that there are thing we are meant to do/enjoy more. Unfortunately it took me many years to figure out what those things might be for me. I had already chosen my profession.

    In the midst of trying to do that now before it's 'too late.' Though it seems like there's no real way to know without simply 'doing' and 'trying' though that could take a lifetime....Also agree with Debbie and do not want to end up killing any hobbies because they are 'made a job.'
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    I do a bit of both. The job that I have that I love, and never feels like a second of work, is one that does not provide anywhere near the income necessary to pay the bills for the lifestyle I want to live (which is nothing grand, I assure you). I have a "real" job that I enjoy, and is a good match for my skills and I work with good people and all kinds of things that make it not a bad job. But it's a job, I don't have passion to go to work, and I enjoy my time off. This "real" job pays the bills. My job that doesn't feel like work provides my discretionary income.
  • Legs_McGee
    Legs_McGee Posts: 845 Member
    I enjoy my job. I like the work, they treat me well, I make decent money, and my co-workers are some of my best friends. I've been there 12 years and will probably be there until I retire. That being said, it's just a job to me, not any deep seated passion. I'm not sure what that would be. I work to pay the bills, and to pay for all my extracurricular activities, which are many.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I enjoy my job. I like the work, they treat me well, I make decent money, and my co-workers are some of my best friends. I've been there 12 years and will probably be there until I retire. That being said, it's just a job to me, not any deep seated passion. I'm not sure what that would be. I work to pay the bills, and to pay for all my extracurricular activities, which are many.

    I would be happy with that.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    It's something I can deal with and enjoy at times, what I'm good at, and the pay is there, so I guess I'm half in. It is great if your job is your passion, but not everyone's passion is going to pay the bills.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    In other words, do you believe there is some truth to the saying that if you find what you were 'meant to do,' you never work a day in your life?

    Maybe it's because I'm a dancer, but I think that in order to do what you love it requires a lot of work. There are moments that you will love, but still lots of work. Same for my husband. He is a physicist, and that has always been his passion (Math, Physics, Creating, Inventing, Designing, Alternative Energy), but it's still very hard work and long hours and little sleep. If I decide to pursue another interest, it will also require a lot of work.
  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
    In other words, do you believe there is some truth to the saying that if you find what you were 'meant to do,' you never work a day in your life?

    Maybe it's because I'm a dancer, but I think that in order to do what you love it requires a lot of work. There are moments that you will love, but still lots of work. Same for my husband. He is a physicist, and that has always been his passion (Math, Physics, Creating, Inventing, Designing, Alternative Energy), but it's still very hard work and long hours and little sleep. If I decide to pursue another interest, it will also require a lot of work.

    Yup. Effort. Bravery. Singlemindedness. Most of the people I know who love what they do were committed to their training, stuck with it, even though parts of it were boring or long. (Mind you, they were usually so focused that all that wasn't always work.) Others were bold enough to go their own ways. None of them were all that interested in doing what other people thought they should do. They followed their talent/ambition, whether it was hairdressing or medicine.

    I've seen people get places in corporate land that they liked well enough. They're more opportunists, in the best possible sense. They saw & acted on chances available to them, without hesitating. Good at making decisions quickly, and very skilled at maneuvering office politics.

    I spent a long time being confused and reactive, but am about 1/3rd of the way towards doing what I ought to have done to start with. Doing my damndest to avoid doing pointless bureaucratic paper shuffling. Offices - NEVER AGAIN.

    but: as for 'meant to be doing'? Nah. I mean we're all better or worse at particular things. Some of us might be best configured for jobs that don't exist anymore, or won't for many years. But I think most of us could probably do a few things really well, given the opportunity. I think it's mostly accidental preferences and just chance that sets us on one path over another. responding to this thing, vs that thing, because of a particular teacher, experience, etc., at an impressionable age.

    For me, I am willing to fight for a thing that works better than things I've done so far.
  • xstarxdustx
    xstarxdustx Posts: 591 Member
    In other words, do you believe there is some truth to the saying that if you find what you were 'meant to do,' you never work a day in your life?

    Maybe it's because I'm a dancer, but I think that in order to do what you love it requires a lot of work. There are moments that you will love, but still lots of work. Same for my husband. He is a physicist, and that has always been his passion (Math, Physics, Creating, Inventing, Designing, Alternative Energy), but it's still very hard work and long hours and little sleep. If I decide to pursue another interest, it will also require a lot of work.

    Yup. Effort. Bravery. Singlemindedness. Most of the people I know who love what they do were committed to their training, stuck with it, even though parts of it were boring or long. (Mind you, they were usually so focused that all that wasn't always work.) Others were bold enough to go their own ways. None of them were all that interested in doing what other people thought they should do. They followed their talent/ambition, whether it was hairdressing or medicine.

    I've seen people get places in corporate land that they liked well enough. They're more opportunists, in the best possible sense. They saw & acted on chances available to them, without hesitating. Good at making decisions quickly, and very skilled at maneuvering office politics.

    I spent a long time being confused and reactive, but am about 1/3rd of the way towards doing what I ought to have done to start with. Doing my damndest to avoid doing pointless bureaucratic paper shuffling. Offices - NEVER AGAIN.

    but: as for 'meant to be doing'? Nah. I mean we're all better or worse at particular things. Some of us might be best configured for jobs that don't exist anymore, or won't for many years. But I think most of us could probably do a few things really well, given the opportunity. I think it's mostly accidental preferences and just chance that sets us on one path over another. responding to this thing, vs that thing, because of a particular teacher, experience, etc., at an impressionable age.

    For me, I am willing to fight for a thing that works better than things I've done so far.

    Very helpful as are all of the above. Thank you for the great insight.
  • xstarxdustx
    xstarxdustx Posts: 591 Member
    I do a bit of both. The job that I have that I love, and never feels like a second of work, is one that does not provide anywhere near the income necessary to pay the bills for the lifestyle I want to live (which is nothing grand, I assure you). I have a "real" job that I enjoy, and is a good match for my skills and I work with good people and all kinds of things that make it not a bad job. But it's a job, I don't have passion to go to work, and I enjoy my time off. This "real" job pays the bills. My job that doesn't feel like work provides my discretionary income.

    Hadn't considered this. Interesting perspective, having both.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    I like my job, and it pays my bills, so in that I consider myself truly blessed. However, it is not my 'calling,' so I certainly don't plan to be doing it forever.
  • rebbylicious
    rebbylicious Posts: 621 Member
    Your life purpose is such a deep passion that it can be fulfilled in many ways - a job is just one way. But if you lost that job your purpose is still there waiting for you to find another way to fulfill it.


    I feel like mine is constantly evolving.
  • xstarxdustx
    xstarxdustx Posts: 591 Member
    Your life purpose is such a deep passion that it can be fulfilled in many ways - a job is just one way. But if you lost that job your purpose is still there waiting for you to find another way to fulfill it.


    I feel like mine is constantly evolving.

    Beautiful perspective.
  • scookiemonster
    scookiemonster Posts: 175 Member
    I am a teacher. Teaching is my passion and my calling - no question. I work hard and put in long hours - I spend my summers taking professional development classes, and I can often be found late at night researching lesson ideas or making powerpoints. However, I truly believe that as long as I am doing what I love, I never really feel like I'm working. I think there's a difference between putting in a lot of effort into something and it feeling like work. Feeling like work, to me, is feeling it's something you have to do even though you don't want to, feeling like drudgery, like you drag through the day. The only time I have felt like that was the two years I was transferred from teaching high school to teaching middle school. High school is my passion. Middle school just paid the bills. I am always putting a lot of effort into what I do, and it can be exhausting, but the only time it has really felt like a "job" to me were those two years. The rest of the time, it just feels like I'm doing what I love.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    I took a 50% pay cut to take on my dream job. While I now never wake up in the morning dreading going to work, when I struggle to get by at the end of every month, it can feel a bit like "being" all over again. Be careful what you wish for.
  • wolverine66
    wolverine66 Posts: 3,779 Member
    Are you doing what you were 'born to do' in your current profession and truly loving it or is it something to just get the bills paid?

    If you've found what you were 'meant' to do in life, how'd you find it?

    If not, do you believe it is just a bunch of hogwash? In other words, do you believe there is some truth to the saying that if you find what you were 'meant to do,' you never work a day in your life?

    I like my job. I think I'm good at it, but it's not my passion.

    It is something that I use to get my bills paid and it allows me to engage in my true passions: support my family, spend time with my them, play music with my friends, and paint. So, maybe I was "born to" be a dad, or be a mediocre acoustic guitar player/singer, or a decent sports artist. My job gives me the income, and the time, for those things I am truly passionate about.
  • oregonzoo
    oregonzoo Posts: 4,251 Member
    I am 34. I am not dong what I'm passionate about. And I might never.
    Because honest to goodness I don't know what that would be, other than my family.

    And if I *did* have a passion for something, I'd hate for that passion to be spoiled once it became mundane.
  • amandapye78
    amandapye78 Posts: 820 Member
    I think in this day and time people should be happy and thrilled to have a job that pays enough to get by. I like my job (mainly because I work with my 2 best friends now and we are the only ones in the office) but its certainly not my passion but I need money to fund my passion so it works for me.
  • silvergurl518
    silvergurl518 Posts: 4,123 Member
    work-wise, i feel like i'm "being" more than "living." but i don't depend on work for happiness, and i've never been driven by the motivation some get from their work lives. for me, my happiness stems directly from interpersonal relationships--with family, friends, myself, significant other (if applicable).

    my being sober for almost 6 years after a short-lived but destructive path with alcohol abuse has shown me the true meaning of gratitude.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I like my job. It's interesting work and helps others. But I would not say I've never worked a day in my life. There are days that it feels like drudgery. Days I’d rather be doing something else. And should I win the lottery, I'd be out of here in a heartbeat. My life is outside my job. But as jobs go, I feel I’m quite lucky to be paid well to do something I enjoy.

    I did not train initially for the work I do now, nor would I have thought I’d enjoy it had you asked the younger me. I just seem to have an aptitude for it and was lucky enough to work for a company that encourages and promotes based on ability, even when it’s outside an individual’s formal training.
  • ron2e
    ron2e Posts: 606
    I totally agree!. I knew what I wanted to do at age 18 but for a number of reasons it didn't happen. It remained an aspiration even while I worked in a totally unrelated job, which I sort of enjoyed and ended up in a fairly senior management position, until I was made redundant at age 40 and retrained as a computer programmer. Immediately I knew I had found my vocation and with 25 years under my belt now, I never tire of it or fail to get pleasure from it every working day. I consider myself exceptionally lucky.
  • MiawMiawMiaw
    MiawMiawMiaw Posts: 24 Member
    I think I'm doing what I'm meant to be doing. From the age of 5 years old I always wanted to be a Veterinary Surgeon and now 19 year later I'm about to start final year at the Royal Veterinary College =)

    It's been ridiculously difficult and I'm not there yet, one year to go and then to find a job!
  • pennydreadful270
    pennydreadful270 Posts: 266 Member
    Living on the weekends. I'd like to try, just once, a job that actually engages my brain - but that does not seem to be a high commodity on the market.

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