I've had a lot of time to reflect recently, because of spring break, and I've thought a lot about Odyssey and why I write for Odyssey. During my little soul searching odyssey, I came to realize that I write for Odyssey because it gives me the opportunity to write about the things I love and it gives me a platform to share it with people. Could I probably do it on my own? Yeah, but why do something like a blog and try to bring people in, when I can join an established community?
With that said. the content I create is what I want to write about, regardless of popularity. I could write an article or make a list that gets read by 50 people, but I know that it was something I wanted to do and I hope that those 50 people enjoyed what I wrote. Getting a lot of views comes with a sense of validation, but at the end of the day, I am writing and doing what I love to do.
This led me to an important conclusion: it's important to do what you love to do.
At the end of the day, if you don't like what you do, then being happy with your work is impossible.
That's not me saying that if you love to sleep, you should sleep all day. While that would be nice, you can't really live your life if all you do is sleep. We should enjoy that life that we live, but that requires both enjoying and living. You can't enjoy life if you don't live it, and living is hard when you don't have any enjoyment.
Do what you love because it's something you love to do.
If you wanna sing, then sing. If you wanna dance, dance. Do those things because you love to do them.
Most importantly, don't let anyone discourage you doing something you love (within reason). There will always be the doubters, there will always be the haters, there will always be the naysayers, but if you really love what you do, then they shouldn't matter.
I realize that it's very easy to say that, and actually practicing what I preach is a different story.
The thing is, it's something most of us do when it comes to school and work. We remind ourselves that we put up with certain things because it will give is a better future. Our desire for a brighter tomorrow is one the most common and strongest motivators to do something.
Doing things that we love makes us happy, and being happy makes tomorrow better and brighter. Sometimes that means finding the job that we love, but other times it just means that we find a hobby that we love. Whether it is a job or a hobby, find something you love.
Simply put, do what you love.