Do What You Love or Quit Complaining

Full of bravado and untested confidence, it is easy for us to think we are Superhuman. We work crazy hours at jobs we don’t like, we’re unhappy, and as a result, we don’t take care of ourselves physically or emotionally. Unfortunately, this mindset isn’t solely the prime trait of youth. Many of us will live believing we’re immune to the abuse we put upon ourselves. We believe that we’ll live forever, but the lesson is sometimes quite harsh when we are smacked into reality and realize the error in this thinking.

The fact is that this life is very, very short and quite precious. Life can end and be over in the blink of an eye. The time for our lives melts away. Days turn to weeks, weeks turn to months and years, and years turn to decades in the blink of an eye. One day we’re young; the next, we’re old. We’ll soon learn how precious our trips around the sun are.

So, in this fleeting moment that is life, it is ultimately essential for us to find and focus on the work that we love. Our goal should never be to allow ourselves to get into jobs that are, well, just jobs we hate and sometimes resent going to work, putting us into some dangerous territory.

And it will happen.

My stepfather once asked me how things were going at work. I replied that my work was ok, but I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I would like. He looked at me and said, “Let me tell you a fact. You’re not supposed to like work. It’s work. You go to work in the morning, work hard, and come home and have a beer. Then, you go to bed and do it all over again. It’s that simple.” I remember telling myself at that moment that I would NEVER allow myself to fall into the dangerous depths of that kind of thinking.

At that moment, I decided always to seek the best use of my emerging talents. I vowed to always be on the lookout for challenging careers where hard work is appreciated and rewarded. It didn’t need to be fun, but you should always enjoy your work and feel like you’re making some difference. Whether in a factory or office or as an entrepreneur working for yourself, your attitude towards your work will be directly tied to your satisfaction and future success.

So be careful not to get complacent in your attitude toward work. Do something about it. Take some action, any action to change your attitude toward your job or career. While most people sit around and wait for someone to give them a second chance, you don’t need to. One of the universe’s secrets is that every human being has the power to give themselves a second, third, and fourth chance.

If you’re unhappy and angry with your work now and don’t do something about it, you’ll be sad, sick, disappointed, and mad as an older person.

Love what you do. If you choose not to, please, for the betterment of humanity, shut up and stop complaining.