Today I was struck by a post from author, Steven Barnes, on his Facebook timeline. He was explaining how a writer can kill their own joy by not writing what they love and used the example of a particular author he knew who drank himself to death.
There was one section that stood out for me:
And if you need your “adult” self to hold down a day job so that your “child” self can play, then DAMMIT, DO THAT. Do NOT make the creative child pay the bills. The child’s job is to play. It is the ADULT’S job to pay the bills.
Aside from the obvious playing theme that coincides with my academic work, there’s something deeper being said here.
Our world is obsessed with telling us we haven’t found our passion until we wake up and do what we love every single day. We keep getting fed this rhetoric and inevitably learn to hate our jobs, no matter what they are.
If we just took the time to re-frame that mindset to say this is what I do for work, then I go home and let my inner child play. You get to be both responsible and indulgent.
It harks back to a time when people didn’t find their identity in their work. It was just something they did until they went home to their families and resumed their lives.
This also opens up a well of creativity and dare I say, fun, in your inner child’s interest.
And if you keep feeding that inner child, something tells me your adult self will be happier too.