They say if you do what you love, you'll never go to work a day in your life. But I'm not so quick to buy that. It seems like a wise proverb, but does it really hold true? Is love really all you need to keep what you do fresh and interesting? I have a hard time agreeing.
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| Photo courtesy of Lotus Carroll at Flickr.com |
I do what I love. I'm a full time musician and church leader. I play music at my church and I get to create environments where people can connect with God and each other . And they pay me to do this. I do what I love, but sometimes it really feels like work. And not in a good way.
Some days are more challenging than others. Some seasons are more tiring. And sometimes it even seems a little bit stale. And I believe this happens, not because I don't love my job, but because love is not enough. There's another element to keeping the job you love... well lovable.
When I first started playing music, it wasn't difficult to find other musicians who were better than me. So I naturally surrounded myself with people I could look up to and learn from. However, as time went on, I got better. After I completed a bachelors degree in instrumental music, I found myself surrounded with many more peers than teachers.
Without even realizing it, I eventually stopped learning new stuff. And very quickly my job, the job that I love, started to seem a little stale. It wasn't that I had lost the passion for music. It was that I had stopped looking for ways to discover more potential in myself.
Music is like most other things - you'll never learn all there is to know about it. But it's the pursuit of it that separates the great musicians from the ones who haven't touched their guitar in two years.
There is a way to never work a day in your life, conceitedly it involves doing the work to consistently discover more potential in yourself, and grow your ability to do the thing you love.
What's one skill you're investing in growing right now, or that you know you need to begin investing in? Please leave your answer in the comment section below.
Staying in the present moment. It is one of those things that sound so easy, until you truly try and do it. Whether it is holding a yoga pose, listening to a clients request, staying connected thru a waltz, helping kids with their homework, playing a piece on the piano, cooking, or enjoying the quiet with the my wife, being only there.
ReplyDeleteYoure right. Being present is something that seems to get harder and harder as technology progresses. It's a tough but worthy pursuit. Thanks Jim.
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