Passion, Pay and Payoff

“[W]hat you love might make a better hobby than a career path.” ~ Kyle Chayka

Wooden HeartHave you fallen into the trap of thinking that you aren’t really pursuing your passion unless you are getting paid?

In today’s online Pacific Standard, Kyle Chayka explores the question of whether doing what we love has to occur nine to five:

“It’s a mistake to assume that a passion is only valid if it’s profitable. Rather than just charging forward under the Do What You Love flag, it’s important to think about what separates labor that deserves compensation from work that you do outside of the marketplace, for personal satisfaction.

If we have to come up with a snappy slogan to follow, perhaps it should be to make what you love pay.” Read More

As I prepare for a bit of a career change, one big reason I am focusing more narrowly on the work I do for pay (rather than juggling two jobs) is to free up valuable time and mental space for my passions, which I now shortchange quite heartlessly. While I hope that those passions, especially writing, will someday contribute to a bigger percentage of my income than they do now, I need to have them in my life even and perhaps especially if they don’t. The payoffs extend beyond a paycheck to personal growth, engagement, joy, and emotional health.

Photo credit: Michael & Christa Richert