Avocation vs. Vocation

Yeah, I know it's been a long time since I've posted! Now shut up and leave me alone.

I had something on my mind tonight and wasn't sure who to share it with except my blog.

I'm older than most of you who follow my blog (except Glen who's remembers when the Dead Sea was just sick) so I wanted to impart some wisdom to all those who still have a choice. So sit back and learn from this bald gray grandpa!

It involves two words: Avocation and Vocation. Avocation is what we like to do (hobbies, interests, etc) and Vocation is what we get paid to do.

If you are still young enough that you have a choice, be very careful of the career path you choose. You will spend probably 45 years working for a living, and if you are in a career that you don't thoroughly enjoy, it won't be fun. I realize when you are in your teens and twenties, money seems like the only reason to have a job and the careers that offer more money are the ones that attract you. But, you may get to a place in life where you would just as soon live in a shack and get to do what you want.

Now, here is a dose of reality. If you choose a career that you'll love, but it pays less, remember that you have chosen the consequences also. You will not be able to have everything your friends may have so don't try. You'll have something much better, you'll love going to work every day. If you try to live above your means (spend more than you have), it really doesn't matter what you do, you'll be miserable in debt the rest of your life. Many people who choose what they want to do end up being very good at what they do and sometimes financial success follows, but if it doesn't that's ok, you're still happy every day.

I used to live across the street from a man who was a 4th grade teacher, and he was a very good 4th grade teacher. He quit for half a year to pursue a sales job that gave him much more money....but he hated it. After he had gone back to teaching, his wife told me, "when he is teaching, he is happy everyday of the month except two (the paydays), but when he was selling, he was unhappy everyday of the month except for two (the paydays). He likes the odds better when he is teaching."

There is an underlying truth that we need to support ourselves and our families even if it means sacrificing what we want to do and there is some integrity in that also, but wouldn't if be great if you love what you do while supporting them. If you're still young enough to make those decisions, choose wisely.

Happy is the person whose avocation and vocation are the same.