4 Ways of Rethinking Work

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but your work doesn’t have to be everything. It doesn’t have to both earn you a living, be creatively fulfilling, AND be your lifelong legacy.

If you are an artist, or have some talent that you want to explore, sometimes the biggest challenge is understanding how it fits into your life and how to use it for work.

I know that I struggle sometimes with what I do for fun, what I do for money, and what I do as a skill to get better at. (And should my art make money?) One helpful framework I found was from Elizabeth Gilbert, who talks about the difference between a hobby, job, career and vocation. Here’s how she breaks it down.

Hobby Something you do purely for pleasure. To prove that you’re not a robot. The stakes are zero. Don’t have to make money or be famous, it just gives you pleasure.

Job The only one you actually have to have. This pays the bills, supports your art. Taking care and providing for yourself. Hardly anyone can JUST be an artist. It doesn’t have to be awesome and fulfilling. It just has to pay.

Career A job that you’re passionate about and that you love. You’re willing to put your life on the line for it and make sacrifices for it. You should love your career or not have one– get a job instead.

Vocation It comes from the latin for “call.” It’s your calling. Nobody can take it from you or give it to you. This is what you’re called to do. Because you need to do it. It can turn into a job. It can turn into a career. Sometimes mutually exclusive to having a career.

One of my other big takeaways from this is that the only way to live in our material world and still be an artist is to either have a Hobby (do it for fun) or a vocation (you need to do this or you will die) while you have a job.

Watch the original video: Elizabeth Gilbert’s workshop

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Caveday is a company aimed at improving your relationship to work. We write regular posts on Medium and send out monthly newsletters with productivity tips, life hacks, and recommendations. Sign up for the mailing list here.

Jake Kahana is a cofounder of Caveday. Sign up for his personal emails, called “The Email Refrigerator” here.