If I tell people these days that getting a job that they love is a great way to make sure that you'll never get tired of working, most of them will agree with that statement. The reason for this is that for years and years we've been told, especially on the Internet but through other mediums as well, that finding your passion, your dream, and then transforming it into your job, is the best way to make sure that you're making tons of money while also having fun.
And while I don't disagree with the fact that there must be some people out there who found something they liked, transformed it into their job, and now they're having the best time of their life, I am also aware of how bullcrap this entire idea is.
Finding your passion is good, but already a difficult task. Transforming it into your job not only makes the entire thing even more difficult, but it also does something that you don't think at first - it literally transforms something that you like to do, into something that you absolutely have to do, even when you don't feel like it, for money, to survive, every single day.
Finding something you like to do that will keep you interested for long enough is hard. Finding something that you love so much that you can do it every day for hours and hours regardless of whether you feel like it or not, and still keep your enthusiasm and motivation, now that's something else.
It's obvious where I'm getting at. You'll get bored. And you'll get frustrated. And you'll get so demotivated at times that you'll feel like just doing nothing all day. But you can't do nothing, because you have to work, and since your work is the thing that you also love, it's easy to see how it can quickly go from what you like, to just another activity that you have to do for money. In some cases, you'll even begin to hate that thing.
This is important to know, because too many people adhere to the idea that finding your passion and making it your job will solve all the problems you have, and then they get disappointed when they realize that it's really not like that. Work is work, regardless of whether you like what you do or not, and you will have moments when your love for what you do will be put to the test.
Of course, it helps if you like your work. It helps that I like to write and it helps me create content even when my efforts seem to be in vain. I'm not making any decent money out of this, and some might argue it's not even worth to put any more effort into this activity. But I like to do it anyway, so why the hell not attempt to get something in return for all these articles?
But would I love writing just as much if I'd have to do it for 8 hours a day, every day, for months and months? I don't think I would. I think I'd get burned out very quickly and I'll end up quitting.
So, I just keep writing as something I do in my own time, sometimes to relax, sometimes to explore new ideas, and sometimes just to share my thoughts. If I'll make money out of this, then great. If not, it's all the same. I'll continue to write, because I like it, not because I have to.
All this doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to transform your passion into your job. If you think that doing it will make you happy, then go ahead. But it's important to know the difficulties that you'll have to face and be prepared to deal with them, so that you don't end up hating what you once loved to do so much.