Today I read an article written by a colleague that sparked this first daily ‘atomic essay’ of 2021. The premise was that we should be striving towards a future of work where our passions aren’t relegated to hobbies, and we can be employed doing the things that naturally keep us up at night.
The writing was excellent, but I couldn’t buy in all the way. In theory, the author’s dad, who had pursued a stable “path,” might have been a lot more fulfilled if he had earned a living doing the carpentry projects he loved. But what would have actually happened if he re-wound the clock and started receiving family-sustaining paychecks for every piece he made?
It made me think about society at large: what would actually happen if we could start today, January 1st, 2021, making a decent living pursuing our passions? Let’s pretend for this example that ambulances will still come to our rescue, crops will still grow, and trains will still run on time (a lot to pretend, but that’s for another essay).
There are three primary reasons why I think this experiment would fail for many, if not the majority of people alive today.
- Many of us (myself included) need regularity, structure, and a community to thrive, something that can be exceedingly difficult to set up on your own
- Getting paid to do what you inherently love can take the love out of it, so much so that your passion ceases to motivate or inspire
- Ideally, formal jobs provide training and skills that can be applied to all areas of your life and any future endeavors. Almost all jobs teach some element of writing, presentation, financial accounting, and organization that is difficult to self-teach
I’m not sold these caveats should squash the idea of pursuing our passions to the fullest, so I’ll be exploring related topics in the days to come. Stay tuned!
