Adriana Modersitzki
As far as career advice goes, this is one of the most common phrases you will hear trotted out: do what you love. But just because you hear it all the time, doesn’t mean it’s useful or even true.
Is “do what you love” a realistic goal? Or is it a lie perpetuated by people who want to sell you a lifestyle (and make a lot of money off you in the process)?
I treated myself to a lovely pregnancy massage this morning. The masseuse and I talked about how she started out as a masseuse and how she loved giving massages even as a child. It made perfect sense for her to follow this career path. She’s been doing it for years and she LOVES it.
So, some people CAN do what they love. For my masseuse it was clear cut:
Perhaps you’re on a similar journey. You’re blessed enough to have your gifts, lifestyle, and career all fit together in a neat little box. You KNOW what you love and it’s a viable career path. You can pursue further development and secure a role in your field or start your own business. If so, that’s wonderful! It’s like these Venn diagrams you see where people find their purpose in life. A few circles later and everything comes together.
But for most people, it’s a little more complex. Sure, things might work out this simply and perfectly for some people but what about the people who do “unsexy jobs”? I can promise you that many of those people are happy working where they are, even if they don’t love every minute of it.
For example, I doubt anyone would pay me to browse Pinterest and drink gin, but I’m pretty good at it and it makes me happy!
You might not be able to do what you love for a career because:
When you don’t fit that mould, the “do what you love” advice can cause a LOT of problems. So, I’m going to talk a bit about:
In my experience, when you tell someone they need to do what they love, it leaves them confused and directionless. It makes them question their career choices, and a lot of things that are out of their control.
Some people are perfectly content working in a job that pays the bills. They don’t want to chase a dream during working hours.
Gotta love Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It demonstrates things nicely here. For some people, if their basic safety/physiological needs are met (some degree of physical comfort, a secure and safe environment, appropriate resources, a healthy workplace, and a secure job) they’re happy to come to work, do the work, and go home again. They don’t need to go all the way through to self-actualisation between 9am-5pm every weekday.
If you tell these people that they are supposed to “do what they love”, they’ll either be confused or start to feel discontent with a situation that’s actually perfectly fine.
There is far too much pressure put on people to have it all and do it all. Especially on women who have had children and are returning to the workforce. There’s an expectation that you:
So, somehow, on top of all those things (which adds up to 5 full time jobs already), we’re also supposed to also love what we’re doing?
Nobody needs that kind of pressure.
Time for another reality check. Not every job is a “sexy job”. By that I mean, a job that:
Most roles that are available out there just aren’t that sexy. Most jobs are quite normal, uninteresting, useful, and necessary functions in society. There are SO many jobs out there that we don’t even think of when we think of career paths.
What if you don’t jump right out of bed every morning, pumped to get to work? What if your job is just average and isn’t something you absolutely love?
First, you should know that you’re not the only one! It’s normal to feel that way about your job. Second, what you do at work doesn’t have to define your whole purpose and self-worth (not even close). Allow me to explain…
From my past experience as a recruiter (and now as a career coach), I’ve met and spoken to a lot of different people in different roles. So, I can tell you two things with confidence:
Case in point…
All these stories might sound like odd tangents off a standard career path, but they all have something in common. These people are happy and established in their new careers because their new job meets a need that was previously unmet.
Work doesn’t have to provide your whole identity, purpose, and needs. There is, after all, a lot more to life than just working!
Perhaps you can be happy with your job because of what it allows you to achieve outside of work. Because you can certainly “do what you love” when you’re not at work!
Perhaps for you, being available to ferry your children to after school activities is a priority. Or perhaps being a soccer mum or teaching a dance class is what makes your heart sing.
Maybe what motivates you is progressing in your career. In the moment, it might seem like you’re stuck in a bit of a loop, with every day the same. BUT you’re working with a highly respected leader in your field and receiving a lot of on the job training that will allow you to advance your career. Soon enough, you’ll get a position that you really want.
Perhaps you crave structure in your life, and having a job provides you with an identity. It might be all about interacting with other adults and finding yourself again outside of being a mum.
For you, perhaps job security is one of the most important factors. Knowing that your job is predictable and secure gives you the confidence to do things that are important to you. Like put a deposit on your first home, book a family holiday, or take time off for the birth of your grandchild.
So even if your job isn’t sexy, and the work itself isn’t something you love to do, you can still find joy and purpose because of how it helps you achieve your goals.
*warning* self-reflection piece coming up in 3, 2, 1… 😉
Career decisions are best if you make them around the kind of lifestyle you want, not just around doing what you love. In other words – focus on achieving the things that are most important to you in life, not just at work. So, ask yourself:
I’ve put these questions into a fillable worksheet, with suggestions to help you come up with some answers that fit your situation. Want the worksheet? Shoot me an email and I’ll get it over to you. One day, I’m going to work out how to make a clickable ‘Download now’ link, I promise!
Here’s the thing… doing what you love will absolutely bring joy and fulfilment to your life. But it doesn’t need to come in the form of your 9 – 5. Because your joy and fulfilment should come from who you are, not what you do.
Doing what you love for your career is all well and good – if that works for you. Fortunately, for the rest of us who can’t create a career from doing what we love (ahem, Pinterest and gin), we can find our joy and fulfillment elsewhere.
So, reframe the question. Are you doing things you enjoy? Are you getting joy and fulfillment from your life – whether it’s at your job or not?
You might not love your profession, but it might allow you to do the things that you love outside of work, at home, on holidays, or with your kids. At the end of the day, even the best job in the world exists to support your lifestyle and personal goals.
It’s been another long (but hopefully useful) blog. But before you go, we want to make sure you DO something. Because that’s the whole point here!
If you’re in that space right now where you’re not sure if you love what you’re doing, if you’re ready to make a change, find a job that caters to your strengths and gives you what you NEED… whether that’s a sense of achievement, security, money, education, or something else, we can help you.
We create professional, highly converting resumes, cover letters, and pitch documents for career-driven professionals. Our team of professional writers will draw out your skills and experiences to help you stand out from the competition. Why wait?
Here’s to doing what we love in life – whether that’s at work or not!
We respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land upon which we live and work, the Ngunnawal people.
We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region, and extend that same respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
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