Happiness and Work

Hello all,

I'm trying to make a decision and am seeking advice.

When making a career choice is it better to go with the career that makes you happiest overall but you only kind of enjoy doing OR is it better to go with the career you can lose yourself in while doing it but doesn't change your overall happiness level?

I think I have an answer but am unsure of it. Just looking for some confirmation.

Thanks!

 

Which careers are we talking about?

 

Details please! I want to know what the choices are as well.

 

hard to say based on limited information, but happier overall sounds better to me than happier while at work.

 

Sounds about right

 

The saying goes; "Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life."

If you do work you don't like you'll be consumed by it.

 

Truth. Having a job that you don't hate (much less enjoy!) is a very precious commodity to me. I've definitely been consumed by jobs I hated, the misery doesn't get hung up at the punch clock, it follows you home. Right now I'm making about the same as I was a few years ago at a job I hated but currently don't have any benefits. Honestly, I prefer not being miserable 24/7 and having to skip going to the doctors when I'm sick then having medical insurance and paid vacation but waking up every morning DREADING the day ahead... vacation doesn't mean shit when you spend it counting the hours until you go back to work lol

 

Working a job you hate seems like such a waste of life to me that I can't really fathom it.

 

Sometimes people don't have the option, unfortunately.

 

Hey guys,

Just got back from my job. Here is a little more information on the whole situation and the two (or three) choices I'm looking at.

Writing: Storytelling has been something that I have been doing since I've been young, very young. Whenever I start to write I can get completely consumed by it and enjoy the process a lot. I even went as far as graduating from a professional writing program and earned a diploma. The issue is while I enjoy the process of writing when I start to think about a career as a writer I get this feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach and become unhappy. Thoughts of failure and all the jazz starts to come up.

Writing makes me happy but thinking about the business side of it scares the "stuff" out of me.

Yoga/Meditation: The second choice I've been looking at is a career dealing with yoga and meditation. I like practicing yoga but it isn't something that I look forward to all the time. I love to meditate. The thing is that when others come to me with questions about this topic I love the act of teaching them about this. Many people come to me with questions about meditation and yoga as well as alternative health topics.

During these periods of time my overall happiness increases but I do not enjoy the act of yoga as much as writing.

I know that I'm not going to make a lot of money in either of these fields but that isn't the important thing to me. When is important is that I'm making some kind of impact in other people's lives whether it is entertaining them with my writing or helping them discover the body/mind connection.

The thing that makes this choice hard is that I'm a good writer (at least I've been told) but I'm also a good teacher.

I know this is getting a little long but I have also thought about mixing the two together. Becoming a yoga/meditation teacher in the moment and once I get some experience then writing about it.

I'm getting closer to the choice but any input is still appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Why does this have to be a choice between one or the other?

Most who pursue yoga/meditation do not teach on a full time basis. They teach classes that are often during early morning and evening. That tends to be the times that are in demand as it fits those taking them.

Why could you not do both. Write during the off times of your schedule and teach when you have a class.

I think both sides of your creativeness could then be satisfied. Not that you have to combine the two sides and write about yoga/mediation, you could write about what ever you wished to. They could be two careers that worked well together.

 

yeah, i was going to say something similar to this too. do the yoga instructor thing, and write on your down time. if the writing works out, then you can quit the yoga and focus on writing full time.

 

I can think of so many jobs that I would enjoy doing that I have a hard time believing it.

 

not everybody enjoys the same things you do.

most jobs that have any sort of a good side are really hard to get, because a lot of people want them.

 

There's also another old saying: "Don't turn your hobbies into your career"

 

I can certainly see the practical side to that, but if you can make it work I'd say go for it! I know plenty of people especially in my family that have grown buisnesses out of what they have a passion for.

 

take a look into the massage therapy field.

may you figure something out if you stick with it.

 

What exactly do you do? And what realistic job would you like to be doing?

 

currently, pizza management.

i can't think of a single realistic job that i would actually like to be doing, just some that are less miserable than my current one. right now i'm in grad school in hopes of getting back into the parks and rec industry, but even that job is just something that i will be able to put up with rather than something i will actually enjoy.

 

I find this very depressing.