Do what you love or love what you do?

Many of us may have been told to do what we love so that we feel like we’re not actually working- but is that really how it works?

What if what I love can’t sustain me as a person? Many of us have hobbies and passions that we wish we could make a living from. But what happens when you turn your relaxing, safe space into a full-time job?

Doing what you love is a very important part of occupational satisfaction, but where do we draw the line with what we love. Not all of us have the opportunity to do what we love and live comfortably. Only the lucky ones can actually do it.

We have been lucky enough to pursue our passion through Psychometry as an occupation and Psychology as a discipline. This August Career Movez had the opportunity of doing a ‘Reality Check’ with the Grade 12 class of Westonaria High School in the Gauteng West District. The main objective of the ‘Reality Check’ was to get the Grade 12 class motivated to pursue doing what they love so that they take initiative over the direction of their own lives. The message was clear. Do what you love!

When it comes to doing what you love, people have different ideas of what it could mean. For some doing what they love involves sitting on the beach sipping pina coladas all day, whereas for others it may include saving lives in surgery on a daily basis, and for some it may even be both. So how do we know which one is the one we should be doing?

Nobody can be successful unless he loves his work. — David Sarnoff

Not everybody has the luxury of being able to do what they love and making money from it. The things we love can’t always sustain our livelihoods. For example, I absolutely love watching movies, but I may not be able to make a career out of it because it may not sustain my lifestyle.

Work without love is slavery. ― Mother Teresa

A colleague of mine absolutely loves taking photography, but does that mean he needs to turn that hobby and passion into a career? I don’t think so. Sometimes our passions and hobbies are supposed to remain as just that- passions and hobbies. These are things that are supposed to bring us joy and relaxation so trying to monetise them may lead you to enjoying them less and less as time goes on- however, this does not apply to everyone. There are many successful photographers who love their work and do not feel that it has become a chore.

I enjoy my work so much that I have to be pulled away
from my work into leisure. — Ralph Nader

There are some careers which are built off passion. This tends to happen if your passion is something high paying such as medicine or architecture, or if you are privileged enough to be able to explore your hobbies and passions without the stress of working and making ends meet. You may end up as one of the lucky individuals who are able to make a good living off your passion such as knitting or painting, we never know.

So now this poses the million-dollar question:
"Where do we find the balance?"

This requires a bit of work. The balance lies in finding something you like enough to do daily in order to sustain your livelihood but still afford you some time to pursue your hobbies and passions on the side to relax.  The key really could lie in doing something you don’t hate. A message to the class of 2022 at Westonaria High School: Do what you love so that you never work a day in your life. Congratulations to Thuano for being selected as the sponsored Career Guidance Assessment recipient!