Most of us want to do work that we enjoy. “Choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life”, right? However, loving something can also mean being unwilling to risk losing it, which could be bad for your career.
Picture: Eugene Peretz/Flickr
As writer Terri Trespicio explains, loving a job too much can sometimes lead to taking fewer chances. While loving the work you do is good, if you’re not willing or able to walk away from a job, it’s unlikely you’ll do much to jeopardise your standing at the company:
After another fruitless year-end review in my early thirties, my boyfriend at the time, who was further along in his career — and, well, a man — said, “You know what your biggest problem is, Terri? You love your job too much.”
He was right. While he loved what he did, he had no problem walking away when he needed to. He knew the value was in him, not the job. On the other hand, I was afraid to push, afraid to risk something I loved. Had I been able to unhook my emotional need from the job itself, I might have gotten further, faster. In fact, years prior, that boyfriend had been VP of the department I worked in at the job prior to my publishing job. He told me honestly that he didn’t give me the big bump I was hoping for when I was there because he could tell I wasn’t willing to push. (I liked that job, too.)
The conclusion certainly shouldn’t be to pick a job that you hate. However, it does mean that if you find yourself too attached to your job, you may find some things you can do to improve your work by looking where you’re afraid to.
Why I’ll Never Let Love Trump Money Again [Daily Worth]
Comments
8 responses to “How Doing What You Love Can Become A Double-Edged Sword”
Gee that was a useful contribution to this story. Let’s keep this issue alive as long as possible, please. Where is @patriciahernandez
Oh, hush. Don’t talk about what you don’t understand.
lol well I don’t understand your cryptic comment if that’s what you’re referring to.
What’s so wrong about liking your job and staying where you are?
Don’t you know? Everyone must have career, advancement and payrises are way more important than happiness 😛
Why is it a double edged sword? Single edged sword was used more as a slicing/swinging weapon where as the double edged sword was more used as a thrusting weapon.
HAHA putz.
English isn’t my first language and it has so many weird sayings/phrases that makes no sense. Like “head over heels” – my head is usually over my heels!