The "do what you love" meme is such terrible advice.

[Zimbabwe]

First of all its a very toxic idea since most people will never find work they "love". Its better to find work that suits your goals and what you want out of life first and foremost. There are very few people in professions that are well paying that "love what they do" besides the occasional actual autistic people. And even the autists would rather do their own personal projects then do it for some company.

Do what you are good at and find a compromise you can't work a job you hate either but don't delude yourself into thinking you can create the perfect job that you love everyday. Even the people who achieve their dreams like athletes who have been training everyday still hate what they are doing half of the time. The difference is no matter what they keep going even on the days they don't feel like it. There is no such thing as a job you will like all or even most of the time. Trying to find some magic passion will likely bring you sadness if thats the standard you believe you need.

 

[Plinco]

Context is very important here.

Is doing what you love useful? If it is, then doing what you love means you will probably end up better at it than anyone else. If you love doing real-estate, and you sell real-estate, you have an opportunity to grow the biggest real-estate business there is.

 

[taiyuu_otoko]

Lot of variables.

Age.

Marketability.

Competition.

Upside learning potential.

Acceptable income level.

Persistence, learning capacity, lifestyle, social skills, etc.

My opinion is that doing what you love is attractive to folks who want the rewards without the years of grinding.

Doing what you love generally entails dealing with what you don't.

 

[Mike32ct]

Do what you are good at. You might not necessarily “love” it, but you probably won’t hate it because you’ll receive positive feedback from your success.

Something you love should be a hobby or side hustle. Maybe eventually a full time business of your own.

Doing something you love while working for someone else will probably make you hate it eventually. Seeing how good and passionate you are at, the boss will keep piling on the work until you burn out or change jobs.

 

[devilkingx2]

Everyone needs to find a compromise between making money and enjoying life.

You can't 100% do what you'd love otherwise you'd be a homeless painter. Or a professional gamer who loses in the first round of every tournament.

On the other hand, you shouldn't 100% chase the money. You won't be able to become a doctor, lawyer or engineer without passion. And you won't be happy as an office manager of some boring company just because it pays the bills.

Find the intersection between your skills, your interests and profits. But be willing to compromise.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

As someone who has had some serious earning power in the past due to my choice profession, I can categorically say that your needs change over time. I’m older than most of you and have had more than one career. My current path is the one that I can definitely say has been my path my whole life but I’d never been able to make a go of it until now.

When I wake up I look forward to my job. When I get home physically and mentally exhausted I know I’ve made a difference in a world of indifference. I’m genuinely happy albeit much more humble financially. I‘ve never had this until this point. Sacrifices have been made but it works for me.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Dave Cappelle has a bit about how when someone dies doing an adventure hobby like skydiving, people say, "well he died doing what he loved." But no one says that when an addict dies of an overdose.

 

[devilkingx2]

Dave Cappelle has a bit about how when someone dies doing an adventure hobby like skydiving, people say, "well he died doing what he loved." But no one says that when an addict dies of an overdose.

To be fair drug addicts don't enjoy it, it would be a rockstar ODing at an afterparty that dies doing what they love.