Episode 79 – In Pursuit of Passion & Happiness
Some say you should follow your passion when choosing a job. But is that really the best advice? This week, we take a contrarian look and ponder the question: What role does passion play in work life satisfaction and happiness? Also this week, some tips on how to gamify your workout routines to make them more fun.
Podcast available via direct RSS feed –> HERE, or via iTunes –> HERE.
Show Notes:
November is a busy month. There are many projects you can take part in, including Movember, to raise money and awareness for men’s health issues.
There’s also NaNoWriMo, if you’re up to the task of writing a 50,000 word novel within the scope of a month.
One of the more common bits of advice you’ll ever hear is that you should pursue your passions in order to achieve the most job satisfaction. However Mike Rowe from Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs has an interesting perspective on this, based on his own observations of people who clearly did NOT follow their passion, and yet seem to be perfectly happy for it.
Listen to a very revealing TED Talk where Mike Rowe talks about an epiphany he had on one particular shoot involving lamb castration. (Content warning: if you’re a bit squeamish about vivid descriptions of such topics, this may not be the vid for you. Or at least start at the 10:30 minute mark).
Another interesting article about following one’s passion appeared on The Simple Dollar, which referenced a question and answer from Mike Rowe’s Facebook wall.
To me, there seems to be no better illustration of how some people can incorporate their passions into their existing work, without necessarily having to quit their jobs in order to follow them.
Lastly, Popular Science provides us with a helpful candy calculator that will tell you just how much Halloween candy you can eat in a day, and still be reasonably healthy in spite of it.
Credits:
Music beds courtesy of Music Alley from Mevio and the Free Music Archive. Thanks to artists: ZeroV, Duane Carter Band, Gepel.