Showing posts with label food for thought. Show all posts

Do What You Love

I posted this article in the roundup a few weeks ago about the Do What You Love (DWYL) motto but since then I've had quite a few conversations about it. The mantra "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life" is pervasive among my generation and within the blogging community. I thought the article was thought provoking and brought up the flip side of DWYL and how it impacts those who aren't privileged enough to have that option and also those who are able to do it but aren't fairly compensated.

What do you think? If that version is too long here are some quotes from the article and a summary from Hairpin:

"There’s little doubt that “do what you love” (DWYL) is now the unofficial work mantra for our time. The problem is that it leads not to salvation, but to the devaluation of actual work, including the very work it pretends to elevate— and more importantly, the dehumanization of the vast majority of laborers.

“Do what you love” disguises the fact that being able to choose a career primarily for personal reward is an unmerited privilege, a sign of that person’s socioeconomic class. Even if a self-employed graphic designer had parents who could pay for art school and cosign a lease for a slick Brooklyn apartment, she can self-righteously bestow DWYL as career advice to those covetous of her success.

If we believe that working as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur or a museum publicist or a think-tank acolyte is essential to being true to ourselves— in fact, to loving ourselves— what do we believe about the inner lives and hopes of those who clean hotel rooms and stock shelves at big-box stores? The answer is: nothing.



(DWYL) shunts aside the labor of others and disguises our own labor to ourselves. It hides the fact that if we acknowledged all of our work as work, we could set appropriate limits for it, demanding fair compensation and humane schedules that allow for family and leisure time.
And if we did that, more of us could get around to doing what it is we really love."

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The Time You Have Left (In Jelly Beans)

I watched this video yesterday and thought it was sweet and thought provoking. Makes me appreciate the exciting summer ahead spending time with my new baby boy and getting some time off of work to doddle around.

Also weird to think about that sometime in the next few weeks will be the first day of my son's approximate 28,835 days on earth. Life is a mysterious thing.

Good Enough.



Have you watched this new TED talk by Meg Jay called Why 30 is Not the New 20? It was posted/recommended dozens of times on my Facebook and Twitter so I gave it a listen last week. Meg is a psychologist who specializes in motivating 20-somethings to make the most of their decade and not waste time thinking they can get started with serious relationships, careers, family, etc when they turn 30.

I have to confess I found the talk more stressful than inspirational. There are a few reasons why this could be the case: 1) I turned 29 in March so my 20's are officially winding down, meaning I'm pretty much at the end of the "window of opportunity" that she is getting at. 2) I'm a pretty self critical person and no matter what I've "accomplished" or done in my 20's I'll always be wishing for more time and clarity on what I'm supposed to do with my life (pretty sure I'm not the only one). 3) Unlike a lot of my friends, I'm not in the career that I had imagined when I was in my early 20's -- honestly I'm not even sure what that career is anymore!

As my 20's are coming to an end, I'd rather adopt an attitude of "good enough." I guess what I mean to say is I had a lot of adventures in my 20's, I met a great guy, I worked with a lot of amazing people....do I have regrets, sure I do. But I did "good enough" with these 10 years and no matter what Meg thinks, I'm still young!! 30 isn't old and I still have plenty of time to "figure life out."

What do you think of the talk? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

PS. Here are a few other interesting perspectives from the editors at Refinery 29 and a rebuttal on the TED site itself.