Lessons Learned from Blogging: What To Do With My Life

Blogging is beautiful.. and vaguely clinical. What else can give you an excuse to metaphorically examine your own axon terminals to be sure neurotransmitters are flowing correctly.. in your synapse, whatever. You can literally sit yourself down in your own shrink-like couch and self-quiz yourself quizzically.. to make sure that you are operating under ideal mental conditions and proper intellectual biases… I done it. (In case you ain’t notice, turns out I’m crazy… my readings are off the charts..) If learning to operate your life optimally is important to you, blogging may help you sort out your own thoughts and feelings so thoroughly that someone else, who may or may not know you, can make easy sense of them. Such was the case with my last post, which was one of those clinical blog posting experiences for me.

I wrote and published the post quickly and without thinking deeply about what the heck I had written. Something didn’t sit quite right with me. I went back and read it. Discovered what it was. Went looking for some answers. Found them from unexpected sources. After thinking and mulling all day, I came back and fixed my folly. I went through a poignant and progressive learning experience while writing this silly blog that only me, my mom, and Rusty reads.

And what I ended up with is a perfectly clear understanding, for which I am grateful. For umpteen billion years I’ve put undue pressure on myself to find what I love to do, what I’m passionate about, and found my life’s work upon whatever that passion turned out to be—and I would accept nothing short of that perfection. I had failed to even allow for the possibility that maybe my passions, or whatever I enjoy the most in life, are not solely employed in the marketplace.. that maybe I can pursue excellence in a menial career that I at least enjoy enough to pursue excellence in… and seek my life’s work and fulfillment elsewhere, outside of a humdrum career.. in more personally fulfilling environments.

Here it is straight (my aha moment): So what if a guy can’t find a job or career he enjoys? Tough two lips. Reality is that a dude has to provide for his family anyways. Therein lives his manhood, the fulfillment of a sacred calling and commandment from God. Regardless of whether or not he’s passionate about his career, more importantly, his career is the livelihood of his loved ones.

In utter amazement, I confess that this fleeting matter of flitting away life in search of the perfect, passion-filled career, turned out to be just this simple: If no passions at all can be found in the workplace, then find something that at least you do well and learn to enjoy it. Have a good attitude, buckle down, strap in, work hard, be steady, and make sure you give yourself time to pursue fulfillment in the form of healthy passions, whatever and wherever they turn out to be. If you find your life’s passion and fulfillment in your workplace, pin a rose on your nose. I’m just talking out loud here. Bling.