Do you love what you do? It is not easy summing up a life and defining it in one or two pages. Philosophers throughout recorded history from Plato to Descartes to Newton. Hume, Spinoza, Hegel and Mill have found it necessary to write great, long volumes. Explaining what they believe and how they arrived at their personal truths.
Nevertheless, in the next few minutes I am going to try and tell you what I believe in. How I came to believe the way I do, and how these beliefs have affected my life.
Do What You Love and Love What You Do
In a nutshell, my philosophy comes down to this; Do what you love and love what you do. The first part is easy to understand. Life is too short to spend it doing anything other than what you love. What you love is, perhaps, what you are meant to do in the greater scheme of things. What you love is who you are.
Let me explain the second part; love what you do. Sometimes, try as we will, things do not go according to plan. And we find ourselves doing what we must and we should, rather than what we choose.
If we become negative, we start to take instead of give. Draining others and ourselves of life and power.
By loving whatever we are doing, and giving it our all, regardless of whether it is of our conscious choosing or not. We remain positive. We remain kind and we remain capable of caring for ourselves and working toward that ultimate in successful living which is doing what we love.
Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique, tells us that “Those who have most fully realized themselves… have done so in the service of a human purpose larger than themselves.” Loving what we do means taking responsibility a step beyond self and into the larger community.
Loving what we do takes effort.
It does not just happen. Let me ask you again, do you love what you do? Or are you just doing what you could to make life of others better around you?
I developed this philosophy out of the experiences and incidents of my life. I am an engineer who works in a construction industry. But I don’t make a lot of money. My work provides for the basic necessities. What more could I ask? Why wasn’t I happy?
There is a simple reason.
The fact is, I lack the interest in the industry. I was outwardly successful and inwardly miserable. I wanted to work with people, to do something that was meaningful. So, I said do what you love and love what you do. But sometimes I think I am not doing enough.
From the author of Wishcraft: How to get what you really want, suggests that “We each have a special talent which we can identify by examining our feelings toward what we do. If we love doing something, that is where our talent lies.”
For me this translated into My Tipid Tips. My partner and I founded My Tipid Tips in 2020 as a resource for all corporate slaves – young and old, single, married or divorced. To come to find ideas, support, understanding and inspiration. We provide this through our blog by writing about experiences, strengths and hopes.
My Tipid Tips holds certain ideas sacred above all others. These are family, saving and managing money and career. My Tipid Tips authors use the power of their own real-life experiences to give hope and inspiration to those who need it.
Through My Tipid Tips, I will be helping individuals connect, share and learn from one another. Seeing folks do what you love make these strides towards empowerment. And renewed happiness will bring me satisfaction that is far greater than any work ever could.
Final thoughts
My philosophy affects every aspect of my life. Today and every day, with my goal of doing what I love in mind, I work at loving what I do. In other areas of my life I also put my philosophy to work.
Because I am loving what I do, wherever I am and whoever I am with. I try to be kind, and give generously of myself, and to treat everyone who comes into my life with respect, consideration, kindness and compassion.
If we are to be successful in life, you must learn to do what you love. But that is only the beginning. We also have to make an effort to love what we do. Whether life brings us a fast food dinner or a banquet, we have to be grateful for the opportunity to do our best.