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My mother was very much like this. When she retired, she found it quite hard to re-adjust. Fortunately she has a few hobbies to fall back on. Personally, I fin

My mother was very much like this. When she retired, she found it quite hard to re-adjust. Fortunately she has a few hobbies to fall back on. Personally, I find it quite a hard balance to get right. On the one hand, tying your identity whole-heartedly to your profession seems dangerous. On the other, being entirely apathetic about it seems like a waste of a life (that is, one spent mostly at work). I try to hang somewhere in the middle, but it's something I try to stay on top of.

ryanianian 7y ago
Love your job and you'll never work a day in your life. Live your job and you won't have any love left to give.
- 2T1Qka0rEiPr 7y ago
  Very succinctly put!
- galimaufry 7y ago
  The problem I have with this is that love is a complicated thing. I love playing soccer, but without the social validation of my friends who also play it I would absolutely never practice. Similarly for most careers, even highly lovable ones.
  - abledon 7y ago
    same for jamming blues/jazz. social communication without using words. amazing social cohesion.
- johnchristopher 7y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17523149 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17523149 I like that outlook >> “Find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” is another college-counseling standby of unknown provenance. > That is probably the biggest load of crap foisted on pop culture in a while. I love what I do, and I work every day. This morning's task is reviewing a help file for accuracy. Hol-ee shite, that's not why I got into programming computers when I was 12. But it needs to be done, and I'm one of the ones that can knowledgeably review it. I really should write that test plan, but I keep putting it off for obvious reasons. Oh, sure, I get to play Puzzle Solver by shuffling some bits around, and it's what I spend most of my days doing, but it ain't all fun and games. > And that's just Working for The Man(tm). Gonna start a brewpub? Maybe an online SaaS business? Oh, my friend, your crap work has just begun; so much so, you might have to leave the fun stuff to your employees. You will work every day, and hard. > Don't get the wrong idea, I look forward to going to work most days, and I've been doing this for a long while. But there's a reason they call it "work", and there's a reason they pay you. Enjoy the hell out of the enjoyable parts, and when the less enjoyable work comes, remember that you are (if of the average HN demographic) paid handsomely for it.

ryanianian 7y ago

Love your job and you'll never work a day in your life. Live your job and you won't have any love left to give.

2T1Qka0rEiPr 7y ago
Very succinctly put!
galimaufry 7y ago
The problem I have with this is that love is a complicated thing. I love playing soccer, but without the social validation of my friends who also play it I would absolutely never practice. Similarly for most careers, even highly lovable ones.
- abledon 7y ago
  same for jamming blues/jazz. social communication without using words. amazing social cohesion.
johnchristopher 7y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17523149 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17523149 I like that outlook >> “Find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” is another college-counseling standby of unknown provenance. > That is probably the biggest load of crap foisted on pop culture in a while. I love what I do, and I work every day. This morning's task is reviewing a help file for accuracy. Hol-ee shite, that's not why I got into programming computers when I was 12. But it needs to be done, and I'm one of the ones that can knowledgeably review it. I really should write that test plan, but I keep putting it off for obvious reasons. Oh, sure, I get to play Puzzle Solver by shuffling some bits around, and it's what I spend most of my days doing, but it ain't all fun and games. > And that's just Working for The Man(tm). Gonna start a brewpub? Maybe an online SaaS business? Oh, my friend, your crap work has just begun; so much so, you might have to leave the fun stuff to your employees. You will work every day, and hard. > Don't get the wrong idea, I look forward to going to work most days, and I've been doing this for a long while. But there's a reason they call it "work", and there's a reason they pay you. Enjoy the hell out of the enjoyable parts, and when the less enjoyable work comes, remember that you are (if of the average HN demographic) paid handsomely for it.