Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Do You LOVE What You Do?

 

In every line of work there are aspects that are less likable. Some of these “unlikables” are universal, but most are not. (You’d think that cleaning toilets, for example, would be one of the universally despised tasks, but I have known more than one person who didn’t feel this way.)

 

But then there are the things people love about their job. Perhaps it’s their co-workers, or the way they can look with satisfaction at what they have done/made/accomplished at the end of the week, or the challenge of the work itself.

 

No matter what, the closest way I find to gauging how much one loves what they do is, barring the need for money, if they do or don’t wish to retire.

 

I thought about it the other day, when one of my doctors (the internist I see for general checkups who is universally adored by her patients) told me she hopes to retire soon. She isn’t old, not by MDs standards, for they have no mandatory retirement age.

My dermatologist, who is at least twenty years older than my GP, told me he can’t imagine retiring. He loves his work.

 

I thought about it again when a writing colleague who’s a gifted and published writer said she was done writing. She’s now a retired writer. It has been a rewarding and enriching journey, but she was done.

Writers, like doctors, don’t have to retire. Writing is separate from publishing, because most writers are never published. This isn’t (for the vast majority) a matter of money.

 

It is all about how much you love what you do.

 

If money considerations were not in the mix, would you:

1.      Retire right now

2.      Never retire

3.      Not sure. Not retire now but can see retiring from your work in the future

 

I am guessing (it isn’t more than a guess, no statistics worth quoting here) that most people would retire yesterday if money were not an issue.

That is plumb sad.

Count yourself lucky if, like my dermatologist, retirement holds no charm for you.


6 comments:

  1. I am retired from teaching. And when I hear about all the restrictions that are being placed on teachers about how and what they can teach, I'm thankful I'm no longer in the classroom. Creative teachers who do a good job of getting kids excited about learning don't usually thrive in those kinds of situations.

    As for writing, the nice thing about writing is you can pick and choose how active you want to be in that career. And it can change depending on what else is going on in your life. Right now, my author career is not very active. Does that mean I've retired from it? Hmmm...I don't know.

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  2. Mirka, such good food for thought. I've always loved what I was doing at the time--studying, researching, teaching, mothering, writing, singing, playing, praying...so I can't see myself retiring from writing or singing. Unless I'm unable.

    But there are seasons to our lives so I can understand if someone no longer feels called to practice medicine or write. There's a story about St. Thomas Aquinas that he had a vision or understanding of something so beautiful that he called all his works straw. He stopped writing... yet here I am singing songs that he composed 700 years later or consulting his notes on Sacred Scripture. I'm grateful he left us his "straw."

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  3. Oh, yes, Vijaya. I too have “retired” from some occupations. I call these chapters “my previous lives.” Currently, I like what I do and am lucky I am not feeling the urge to move on to the next life, Deo volente.

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  4. I am 65 but I don't reach full retirement age in terms of Social Security for more than another year. When my job is especially stressful, which is the case most of the time now, I want to retire, but I think it's good for me to work. It keeps my brain active. I learn new things. Maybe the job will help keep the dementia dragon at bay.

    Love,
    Janie

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  5. Such an interesting question. I'm a retired teacher and retired from full time teaching to become a full time writer. I loved teaching, but all the bureaucracy tired me out, and I'd always been a part time writer on the side. Well, I love writing, too. But for several years after retirement, I taught an after school art club (volunteered, no pay) and absolutely loved it because 1. there was no homework 2. no grading 3. parents were a joy to interact with . . . because we all loved art. I had them keep art portfolios and then they chose their favorite art to display (not sell, because the students were so attached to their art!) So, I loved that, and then the other days I wrote. Even though I'm not writing as much as usual these days because we were so busy moving around the past three years (all settled and rooted now), I still love writing and can't imagine really retiring from it.

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  6. I periodically think about quitting writing. But then what would I do?

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