Creating a Balance Between Doing What You Love and Necessity
The importance of having a passion and love for your job to reach your goals in life is understated. Still, it would be best never to allow it to take precedence over other responsibilities.
Are you passionate about something? Are you doing something that you love or love to do? If yes, then are you taking care of your responsibilities?
We only live once, and work constitutes a huge part of our lives. Therefore, it must be something you enjoy doing as much as possible. Don’t let your work or daily grind become an obligation or burden. Instead, make it something that makes you feel accomplished and energized.
But in the real world, things are easier said than done. We often get bogged down by the usual day-to-day tasks and mundane activities that many of us forget what our purpose is. We forget what it feels like to actually live in this beautiful, mysterious, and hedonistic world.
Most of us forget to pursue our passions and dreams. We keep working on something that doesn’t bring us joy or fulfillment. A lot of us are doing jobs we hate or feel indifferent about.
Most of us have meaningless jobs, BS jobs. But, we will do it simply because we are obsessed about the rate race and need the money. We get stuck in a rut, even without realizing it. And if when comes to our senses and try to make a change, we are too afraid to take the leap. And for some, it is already too late.
That’s why it is crucial to find a balance between doing what you love and the necessities of life.
To ensure that your passion does not overpower your responsibilities in life, it is essential to create a balance between what you love and what’s necessary. If we focus too much on our passions, it can be easy to neglect our duties.
On the other hand, if all we do is take care of necessities first and never make time for fun activities, life can be dull and unfulfilling.
You know what I am talking about. You have seen struggling singers who work full-time jobs and perform shows on the weekend. Or that guy down the street who does deliveries all day but still finds time to paint beautiful art pieces.
I’ve always advocated that you pursue activities that make you happy and bring joy and purpose to your life. We only live once, so it’s best to live it fully. However, if you take this too far and neglect your duties, there’s no point in having a passion for something.
The key, here again, is — balance.
Whoever is reading this may be asking what I am doing. Well, it’s simple. I enjoy being creative, learning and exploring new things. I am one of those guys who can tell themselves and others I created something.
That’s why I decided to become a writer. It helps me be inspired and hones my creativity. I won’t say I am fortunate, but I found my passion and a way to make it sustainable. I don’t do fiction or poetry, but I work as a freelancer and use my passion to create something practical.
While there are some months — I have an excess of work and other times when it’s slower. But I’ve learned how to manage this by setting realistic goals.
I love and enjoy my job, but I know the importance of being practical. There are countless people who can’t make their passions work. And doing things they don’t like or hate — but still do it because of financial necessity.
After all, we need to survive; we need food and water. You need to pay your bills; kids need to go to school; you need to take care of your parents. You need to buy stuff for yourself — all this requires money.
When I started my career in writing, I figured out how important it was to balance doing what I love and earning an income.
So, if your interests aren’t providing enough for you — or if they’re not meeting your expectations — you should settle for something that will do so.
These days, many people pursue their passions or engage in activities that bring them joy and satisfaction but still rely on 9-to-5 jobs to make a living. Some of these folks lament their employee status, but it is a sensible way to make ends meet — and one that allows them to do something they love on the side.
The point is we should prioritize pursuing our passions and addressing basic needs like food and water. We can dedicate a portion of our time towards activities that fulfill us and then look for ways to sustain them, such as volunteering or freelancing.
“When we’re pursuing our heart’s work, we’re never wasting our time.”
Don’t misunderstand me; I always tell people to do what makes them happy and fulfilled! But don’t forget to eat or drink. There must be some balance between necessity and doing what feeds our souls. If we’re all doing things we love yet still struggling to make ends meet or don’t have enough money for rent, food, and water — maybe it’s time to say “pass” and then find something that will actually pay the rent and relieve your hunger.
As the late Steve Jobs once said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”
The more we pursue our passions — the closer we find what you love. If it’s in your soul and makes a positive difference in the world, then pursuing it is something worth doing. And if not? Take a “pass” and explore another route that will nourish your soul.
So while balancing a day job and pursuing your passion might be harder, you shouldn’t let the circumstances stop you. After all, when we pursue our heart’s work, it’s never a waste of our time.
