HBR: Job vs Vocation

Great post by Andrew J Hoffman on the HBR blog on the risky business of finding 'work that you deeply connect with'. A sample:

'a life well lived must be a creative endeavor. Whatever form that creativity takes — whether it's carpentry, building, teaching, raising a family, or writing a book — the challenge of looking within ourselves to find that creative element makes us who we are. But chances are, if we are genuinely open to the possibilities of a calling, we will find that that satisfaction will come from someplace far different from where we expected to find it.'

And a wonderful line from Thoreau to end. 

Carpe diem

Lesson of the day: Life is too short to waste doing things you don’t enjoy. Not a novel concept, apparently, but today two people in two separate instances told me things that brought it to the front of my mind. One said he retired early and now accepts some part-time work - and how that's reduced his stress - and one said he turned down lucrative alternative careers in order to pursue his passions. And someone at work is retiring so that she can paint. So, the lesson of the day: Life is too short to waste doing things you don’t enjoy. Question is: Do we learn? Will I?

Being 'good'

To live well (the breadth of interpretability there is intentional), to live with some compassion, as well as passion. This is, at least in part, my version of the point of living.

That compassion part of it, however, doesn’t strike everyone as to the point, or even necessary. Caring for others, or even simply ‘being good’, isn’t very interesting.

Mark Vernon recently wrote on the idea of the ‘goody two shoes’ (as opposed to a more benignly-looked upon, yet still unfashionable, goodness):

‘I’ve been wondering why it’s so hard for us to talk about the notion of a good person. It fails to appeal, with its overtones of one who obeys the rules – worse, who habitually obeys the rules because they have a cloying, compliant character. 

‘I think that’s a clue to the problem: we’ve become so used to thinking about morality as being about obeying rules, doing the right thing, that we’ve lost sight of a more appealing notion of goodness.’

And perfection, and happiness?

The purpose of life does not include the pursuit of perfection or even the pursuit of happiness. To pursue these as part of the nature of our being is asking for frustration.

So what is in the package marked ‘purpose of life’?

I don’t know. Or at least, I don’t know everything that’s in it. I’ve taken a few things out, unwrapped the packaging, but never been able to look right into the box.

I think if your personal box doesn’t contain love, acceptance and at least some kind of passion, it would somehow be lacking.

And perfection, and happiness? These things are part of life, but they aren’t its purpose. Hope for them, and when they appear (sometimes together, sometimes singly), accept them, enjoy them.