Why doing what you love is important

You have probably this saying before: “do what you love and you will never work a day in your life”. Well, I don’t fully agree with it but I do think that doing what you love is important. Find out 7 reasons why you should do what you love for a living.

A lot of people don’t like their job. I think it’s okay to not be passionate about you do, to not be thrilled in the morning when you have to wake and go to work, but when you have a pit in your stomach at the mere thought of going to work, there’s a problem. Most of us have been there – I know I have – but nobody should stay in this hurtful situation. That’s why doing what you love is important.

Does that mean that you necessarily need to love your job to be happy? Not at all. Some people are completely satisfied in a work environment they tolerate, and they find solace in other places of their life, such as family, travels, hobbies, and things like that.

However, finding enjoyment in your work is very valuable to your life. Doing what you love is important in many aspects.

I used to hate what I was doing. I had a job where every morning was close to torture. I would feel anxious and nervous the moment my alarm rang and all I wanted to do was to call in sick. My life improved tremendously when I quit and decided to focus on turning my life around!

Here’s what you can expect:

You will have more motivation

You will wake up happy and excited about the day. Instead of grumbling that you don’t want to go to work and that you would rather sleep more, you will feel like the day is yours for the taking!

You will get things done and even not work-related chores will seem more bearable.

You will be more productive

If your motivation soars, so does your productivity! If you hate what you are doing, you will not do it as well. You may be more willing to cut corners or half-ass a task, whereas if you actually enjoy it, you will do your very best to make it perfect.

Your health will improve

Stress is bad for you. Studies even showed that it causes damage to us on a cellular level. This leads to a higher risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. But not all stress is bad stress. Stress is a natural response to a challenge and can be helpful in surmounting it, it focuses you. You are bound to be stressed sometimes even when you do what you love for a living, however you will feel like taking on the challenge and move through it instead of feeling anxious.

Being happy helps you being healthy on a physical and emotional level. Jobs are such important part of our life that it is paramount to be able to feel if not ecstatic, at least content about them.

Your social life will improve

You will not be irritable and cynical, you will be cheerful and more optimistic, and therefore not as likely to spill your problems over others. Your relationships will progress in a positive way. When you are deeply unhappy, you tend to take it out on other people, the opposite happens when you feel more fulfilled with your life.

You will have more confidence

If you like your work, you will try to it best, and more than likely, you will succeed. You will feel more accomplished and perceive challenges as a good thing.

This will help you in your relationships as well, it’s typically easier to meet and forge connections with new people when you are confident. You’ll also be able to handle confrontations better.

You will be an inspiration for others

How many people stuck with a shitty job haven’t dreamed they could work their dream job after listening to a video of someone doing something amazing with their life? This could be you! People will admire you and may want to follow in your footsteps and take the leap.

You will be happy

And isn’t that what life is all about? The pursuit of happiness?

Happiness can take many forms. Once again, this does not necessarily mean making a living out of your passion. If you have a stable job and earn decent money, that may be enough for you. Some people choose to work their asses off at jobs they don’t particularly like so they can retire early, or take a full month dream vacation every year. And that’s okay.

But I doubt these people hate their job. Usually they are contempt with it. So in a way, they are doing what they love, which is making money to reach their goal.

But doing what you love is not all sunshine and rainbows

It takes hard work. And usually a lot of hard work.

It can be scary.

It takes time.

It can mean you have to stick to doing sometimes you don’t like for some time so you can have enough money saved away to get you trough the transition.

For me, I currently have two jobs:

• My day job that provides me with a reliable income on a daily basis.

• My art business that takes up almost all my time off and that I am trying to take to the next level.

And even when my art business will have reached the point where I could make it a full time job, I am not sure I will quit my day job. Because you see, I quite enjoy my day job. It’s not a passion and it’s not always easy, but I like the social aspect of it and the perks I can get through it. Having both a regular job I like and a business I love is quite a success already in my opinion!

If you are interested in how I built a creative business while working a full time job, I will write an article on that later on. Subscribe to my Newsletter to be notified when it is published!

What about you? What do you do for a living and do you enjoy it?