.png)
Is it a balancing act or a beautiful mixture?
Once you find that job you love, it's easy to throw yourself into it and let previous interests fade away. I've found that true as I approach a year of copywriting at AMG. And if you have a family, or girlfriend in my case, those interests you've always enjoyed become further confined to a window of time at night or on the weekend.
A few of those interests for me are reading, tennis, working out, playing piano, and writing fiction, the latter two being passions. This last year, all of these activities have been truncated and it occurs to me to reflect: is that a bad thing? Isn't there less of me? Am I not being true to myself? I don't think so.
Working full time forces you to set priorities. Your profession carries a natural immediacy. Your family needs you right after that. You have to eat and cook sometime. And then sleep. No wonder the years flash by! Part of being a responsible adult is realizing you don't have time for the activities that used to make up who you were. That doesn't mean you're not being true to yourself. You're just evolving.
One of the greatest virtues we learn from work and our family is self-sacrifice. This idea that what I want doesn't come first. Sure, we may want a job and a family, but the hard reality of those wants quickly replaces the idea of them. We might ask, "why did I want this again?" But it is at that moment when our wants become work that they begin to feed us. To teach us what true love is. And true love labors not for itself. We have to self-sacrifice to be fruitful. Enter the paradox that by giving, we receive, whether it's a salary or the satisfaction of having quality family time.
Between copywriting, volunteering with Young Catholic Professionals, and family time, I haven't been able to record a new song or add to my fiction stories in recent memory. So yes, I'm spread thin, but that's only because I'm expanding who I am. There's actually more of me, not less. I choose my passion projects to diminish because that's the part of me most closely tied to my ego. But don't think I'm forgetting them.
You should certainly carry your passions with you throughout life. Two examples: to force myself to keep practicing piano, I volunteer as the back-up pianist for my Sunday Mass; to keep writing, I maintain a personal blog I'm accountable to update every month. Holding onto your passions might mean you have to get out of your comfort zone, but you'll always grow. Or it might mean you compromise, like me working out only twice a week now.
Also make time for those activities where you can just put your brain on a leash and mindlessly enjoy. For me, those are reading, jamming on piano, and updating my vocabulary list. Actually writing a story or learning a song is hard work, but few things are as fulfilling to accomplish. These are my passions; that doesn't have to mean I'm amazing at them or should be making money with them. We as humans are wired to create for its own sake. It delights an innate part of us. So in whatever you do, create, build, innovate.
You're very blessed if you are able to make a profession out of something you naturally love. But for the great majority, this isn't possible. However, we have the choice to become passionate about something. Life is a continuous process of discovery, and we can always find new things to get excited about. So why not become passionate about work? Get to know the people you work with, be patient with them, and do what you do well.
Don't worry if your passions are getting behind you in this pilgrimage of life. We rightly have more important things to focus on than ourselves. Just don't let them go. With this perspective, work and passions can not only live in harmony, they can both nourish you in different, equally important ways. But I contend that God and family will always be where we find our most fulfilling purpose.