Today was my last day of New Years vacation. Tomorrow I have to go back to work.
Notice how I said “have to” not “get to.”
I have a good job. It pays the bills and gives me enough left over to indulge in moderately expensive hobbies. I get to work a typical 9-5 without having to put in too much time over the requisite 40 hours a week. I work with some really cool people that I enjoying being around.
I hate my job.
The best part of my weekdays are when I finally get to leave and not think about work for a few short hours. The best part of my week is Friday when the weekend finally arrives. I long for my days off.
The thought of doing this until I’ve saved enough to retire is soul-crushing.
I was listening to a podcast earlier today and the guest on the episode I listened to was talking about jobs. She worked in a job that she did well but didn’t put in any extra effort than what was required. Her friends on the other hand talked about the job at night, on the weekends. They read books about their jobs for fun. They were doing, for a living, exactly what they would be doing anyway, but they got paid for it. This realization led this person to follow suit. She decided to start doing what she was doing while not at work, and get paid for it.
The problem is the things I do when I’m not working are not profitable. So… I need to find something that is.
It might take me my entire life, but the search for my calling might end up being more important than actually finding it. Imagine all the things I might learn about who I am as a person while I find my purpose. And maybe in the meantime I’ll finding meaning and purpose in the job I have now. Maybe instead of spending time and energy focused on the things I hate about my job, I can focus on the things I do like and do more of that.
Maybe I can find a way to change the things I hate about my job to make it better for me and others. Maybe this can be a catalyst for change in other areas of my life.
Maybe that’s my calling.
Writing the Year 