Starting in the late 1970s, the idea of “passion” entered our discussions about work. 

The goal became to find work that aligned with pre-existing interests, rather than pursuing mastery of a difficult craft (which had been our way of doing things for hundreds of years).

Don’t get me wrong, you absolutely must be interested in what you do. That’s vital to persevere through the difficulties that arise in learning anything new and worthwhile.

But I’m coming to find that our obsession with trying to align work with things we already like is sapping us of our ability to enjoy (or at least be satisfied with) most any type of work available to us.

We’re asking our jobs what they can do for us, rather than focusing on what we can offer the world by engaging in those jobs.

Satisfaction and enjoyment in our work is a lot like motivation. We think we have to wait for motivation to hit before we act on something (like getting in a workout or finishing a difficult project). But that motivation only comes after we’ve taken the action.

Action precedes motivation, not the other way around. And happiness in our work often comes AFTER we do the difficult work itself.

It’s probably not what you want to hear… But that doesn’t make it untrue.

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