Everyone’s obsessed with finding their passion and turning it into a career, but honestly? I think that mindset messes people up more than it helps. I don’t want a dream job. I want a job that pays decently, respects my time, and lets me log off at 5pm without thinking about it until the next day.
Not everything needs to be meaningful. Not every passion needs to become income. Sometimes you just want stability so you can enjoy your actual life outside of work like hobbies, people, peace. But in a world that keeps telling you to “do what you love,” it feels like you’re settling if you don’t make your job your whole identity.
To me, a job should be a tool, not a purpose. And I don’t think that’s sad at all
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Yeah, that’s unpopular. Why would I like to enjoy what I do when I’m working. That’s just silly. Work should feel passionless. We should only strive to find meaning outside of work. Feeling passionate about work is too much pleasure for one person.
I feel like people just get too loose with the term passion. Most people aren’t truly passionate about anything, and just call their interests or hobbies “passions”. If you really are truly passionate about something, being able to spend all your time doing it and making it your career is a blessing. If you just like that thing, then it’s just a job like anything else
As someone with no ambitions or goals, I agree.
My hobby at home is to bake. I don’t even bake for myself I only do it for other people. I got really good at baking cupcakes and doing fancy piped icing.
People would say “OoOoOohhhhh you shOuLd sTaRt a bUsinEss”. Like… no lmao. If I started making cupcakes/baking as a career choice, I’d end up hating baking.
Why would I take something I love to do, and slap it together with shitty customers who complain, deadlines, tax stress etc…
Sometimes it’s okay to like your job. You don’t have to love it.
This is more popular than you’d think. So many people chase the dream of “Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” without realizing that jobs are inherently things people don’t want to do because otherwise, why would you be getting money for it? I know so many friends who love(d) drawing and studied art in college just to go into the real world and realizing that a lot of art jobs involve making business logos, stationery designs, ads, basically things that involve very little creative expression, which is what artists tend to seek from drawing.
Unpopular opinion so I respect that, but I disagree. If I’m going to do this career for the next 30-40 years working 40 hours a week, I might as well enjoy what I’m doing.
I understand the reality of needing to pay bills, keeping the lights on, and putting food on the table, but I still want to enjoy my job. There is a balance between being realistic and still enjoying doing something you like, such as a job that brings you some level of fulfillment. Wanting stability and enjoyment in your career can be achieved.
I think your opinion is actually too popular. Considering AI can potentially take over all the jobs that are, in essence, sitting behind a laptop, I think more people should reflect on what they’d like to spend a lot of their time on, instead of thinking about the bills.
Passion is a big word. Doing what you like to do and become better at would be my words. You should look into psychological ownership. It really breaks down why people can feel “passionate” about something immaterial like a job.
Money is not going to make you happy. It’s a byproduct IMO.
I haven’t even read past the title yet but AGREED 😂
Okay read the rest and it totally messes you up! I wish there wasn’t such an emphasis on “passion” when I was younger. I would have picked the highest paid job I thought I could be decent at and been a lot happier
Okay third comment but you really got me going hahaha like what am I supposed to do with my passions?! Be a dolphin trainer? A starving artist? A yoga teacher? Like come on! Who has a passion for anything reasonable, uggghhh
I totally agree. For me turning things I enjoy into a job would be the easiest way to make sure I never want to do that thing again. I just want a job that I don’t absolutely hate, that’s it.
I agree. A lot of chefs don’t even cook for themselves or their families
My dads a drummer and has made a career out of it because he loves it and treats it like he’s ceo of apple or something, never seen him once approach work “comfortably”. Always approaches it like “if I fuck up ill hate myself”.
Meanwhile me I loved music so I became a DJ for awhile. And it was not a bad job, but it wasn’t my passion. So I moved on. I don’t think my dad could move on and be content. So if you can make your passion work I’d say its not overrated. But like someone said not a lot of us are truly passionate about something.
My biggest life lesson: base a career on what you’re good at, not what you love.
I’d always thought I’d have some sorta artsy job but nope. I tried going to school for it (music, web design, photo/video editing, etc.) and it just sucked the passion out of me. Schools have a have a special way of showing you that anything you love can be turned into a dreary hellscape, imho.
I just want a job I don’t dread going to every day. Something I can at least enjoy somewhat. It doesn’t need to be a passion. That’s my goal right now.
Frankly most people are not skilled enough /dedicated in their so called passion area or even have enough business acumen to turn it into a paying job.
I think people are more so obsessed with doing something that they think will make them happy, like by turning a passion into a job. But the reality is anything but that.
People say that they like doing landscape photography and that photography is their passion. But would most people be willing to spend days / weeks hiking up mountains alone in all different kinds of weather to get the shots, the answer is no.
I have a career I’m passionate about (3D animation).
I have been trying to explore other industries and paths due to the effects of AI and capitalistic interests/cred and how they have been affecting my industry and my lack of optimism moving forward.
Every single thing I’ve tried so far feels like such an emotional downgrade. I wanna shoot myself in the face half the time lol.
“There’s no way I could do this for the rest of my life.” Keeps coming to mind.
For me there’s a difference between not loving Monday morning s simply because I have an obligation to wake up early. Vs not liking Monday mornings because the place I have to show up to is emotionally draining me. (Adding in the contrast that some people will treat you very differently depending on your position. You ain’t about to talk down to me at a job idgaf about 🤣).
There are plenty of people who dont really care what they do as long as they are getting a check. That’s just not me though.
At the end of the day it’s different strokes for Different folks. No one “rule” will work the same for everybody.
Agreed. I only work to support my family and hobbies and a roof over my head. My dream job is to have no job.
Facts
Completely agree with this take. Not every hobby or passion needs to be monetized, and trying to force it can actually ruin the joy you get from it
> I don’t want a dream job. I want a job that pays decently, respects my time, and lets me log off at 5pm without thinking about it until the next day.
Sooo yeah a dream job lol. At least in the US. You can literally only dream of that out of high school hell even out of college lol.
I have no passion for anything which is why I never went to college .. fell into an office job and I don’t mind what I do but it’s not something I jump out of bed raring to go to
Once your beloved hobby becomes a source of income, it’s no longer a hobby. In the worst case scenario, it might become a grind through life.
That’s the reason why I never do commissions as an artist, because every time I worked commissions, it was hardly ever fun (unless I made them for the people I know very closely – and even that I don’t do often).
Now I’m working on my first graphic narrative, and I want to do it at my own pace, and I want to do whatever I want – not whatever the audience expects me to do. If I make a little bit of money out of it – that’s great. If not – then so be it. But there’s no way I want to be limited in what I do with my art, or to twist my brain around trying to figure out the working marketing strategies and what’s worth investing my time/money into or not. If I’m not having fun working on my art and comic(s) – then it’s not worth it in the first place (especially when reality of the world slaps you hard in your face and regularly demotivates you, lol).
It’s one thing to be able to use a skill into a hobby and make money from it I think turning it into a business kind of takes away from the whole point of it.
If I could make money selling paintings that I made and painting at my own pace and painting what I wanted to paint that would be ideal. But then theee is the drive that if I could make money doing that i would prefer that than dealing with all the extra shit
Took approximately three years to go from loving to turn wrenches to loathing it. Hard agree OP
It’s a great way to ruin your passion.
I think most people should decide first what kind of work environment and work/life balance they want, then work back from there to find a career path. IMHO, your work environment and work/life balance are much greater determinants of your overall happiness than the specifics of what you do at work.
Agreed. Not to mention, a lot of the ‘passion’ industries (eg acting, fashion, visual arts, music) are notorious for low or no pay, long hours and exploitative working conditions. Why? Because there are millions of people with big dreams lining up to even be in the room.
Not to mention, a lot of things that come with any job is a sure fire way to kill a passion.
I think that it’s best to find a job you don’t mind doing and that has good benefits, and revel in your passions in your free time.
I almost ruined my life because of this. I was good at music and enjoyed performing and writing. So do music as a career right? Wrong. I got hit with burnout so severe in my second year as a music ed major that I sold part of my instrument collection because it made me cry and sick just looking at them.
I think that it’s totally personal preference, I can see both sides.
For one, being burnt out of a passion because you made.eit your job would suck.
For another thing, though, having a job you’re not passionate about can also just make you too tired to have hobbies in the first place. I don’t care if they’re perfect employers, I wouldn’t spend a third of my life doing something I wasn’t motivated doing.
Do what you like, not what you love.
To a point, at least, I’m gonna disagree with this one.
>I want a job that pays decently, respects my time, and lets me log off at 5pm without thinking about it until the next day.
heh, good joke. youd be better off making a job doing something you like.
well said. some passions cannot be monetized. some can be. also the level of passion is also different for different people. some people can be so passionate, that it makes them innovative, creative, solution oriented. This allows them to convert many others into the same passion, and be able to monetize their passion. Hence, do not generalize. It is subjective. Each one has to decide for himself.
I think the reason why a lot of people say this is because once you work in your passion, you will likely be good at what you’re doing. You could work in any blue collar job, even doing laundry or lawnmowing, If you’re passionate about it and start a business you could become more wealthy than some doctor who is half assing it.
But I like the honesty it’s truly an unpopular post
Agreed. I also feel that being required to do something every day to make a living would reduce my passion for that thing.
I work in a job which involves some of my biggest passions (fashion, beauty & wellness) and absolutely disagree- I learn or discover something new within those worlds everyday that makes me even more interested in those fields. I still go and actively seek out activities & media about those things and still love it!