Work. The very utterance of the word strikes fear into the hearts of weekend warriors everywhere. The guy standing in line behind you at the movies doesn't want to hear about your job, but would love to tell you why he hates his. Those who actually enjoy Monday morning have become a dying breed.
But why is the concept of work given such pejorative treatment? When did one's vocation become a reason for vacation?
To determine the cause of this, it's necessary to find the source of the problem. For many, a career begins during college. Classes are taken, interests are realized, and majors are chosen. Higher education fulfills its duty to prepare students for a lifetime of doing what they love. But at some point in this cycle, something went terribly wrong.
Students began to choose majors based upon lucrative opportunities in the future. They spurned the classes they loved in exchange for financial security in years to come. Ostensibly, there is nothing wrong with this decision. It's difficult to pass up thousands of dollars today in exchange for happiness 20 years down the road. 18 year olds see dollars signs and pick the get rich asap degree. These students may learn some beneficial information from General Education courses, but usually they will specialize too quickly, and are left with knowledge applicable only to their career path.
These naive students spend the first 10 years out of college accumulating as much money as possible. Some are successful, other happy, but a large group wind up making less than they dreamed and despising the same contract they signed in blood when they chose their degree. The guy at your kid's baseball game, grumbling about the upcoming week. The obnoxious woman on the subway, complaining about the mundane tasks for the day. Or maybe you, realizing that your ten year plan left happiness out of the equation. All pragmatism no passion.
So, what's the solution? Find something you love to do, and find someone who will pay you to do it. A simple statement, commonly quoted, but rarely applied.
Go to college to learn about something that interests you. Learn about a variety of things before choosing how the next 50 years of your life will be spent. Acquire all the knowledge available and pursue what is most attractive. Don't blow off what could be the rest of your life. Don't settle for a prosaic position when variety and excitement could be yours for years to come.
Listen to the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, describing a man who follows his passion.
"He walks abreast with his days, and feels no shame in not 'studying a profession,' for he does not postpone his life, but lives already. He has not one chance, but a hundred chances."
Emerson paints a portrait of a man who seizes life's opportunities. This kind of man isn't ruled by a safety. He finds his security in pursuing what he can enjoy during the time he has been given. I can't stress this enough, pursue what you love. Pursue it tenaciously.
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1 comments:
Your blog was inspiring to read and caused me to look up the word "prosaic." I had a general sense of the meaning, but I like the contrast with “poetic.” What would a poetic position look like? It would not necessarily be filled with variety and excitement, but it would be deeply satisfying (I imagine). Not necessarily moment to moment – I am thinking of a fiction writer I know who hates the revision process – but satisfying to do something that is truly meaningful. I look forward to reading more of your essays.
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