By Rachel Hill
“Do what you LOVE, and you NEVER work a day in your life.” That’s what they say right? Now, I don’t know about all of that, because I work the majority of my life, between content creation and freelance photography. And while most days are filled with joy — and I love it and am grateful to have the opportunity to be creative — I don’t know if I’ve ever worked harder.
Balancing Act
However, what I cannot put a price on are my happiness and my mental health. And in that, I am paid tenfold. I think, while we try not to let our careers be our WHOLE identity — and they’re NOT — if we’re passionate about what we’re doing, it’s hard not to associate them with who we are, and even harder when we don’t feel that way about our career.
For me, it’s this balancing act. Both my parents had careers that they loved. My dad served in the military for 20 years, and my mom was a nurse for 35 years. And there is not an ounce of time they regretted doing what they did. They always went above and beyond in their duties. And they instilled that in me. So, me being creative came with the difficult task of working a lot of 9-to-5s that weren’t in my area of study, or honestly things that I was even all that good at!
Fill Your Cup
Over the pandemic, I enrolled in the “School of YouTube” and began going back to my creative roots and learning photography and videography. With so many great content creators and teachers online, I was so inspired! I didn’t realize it was possible to learn and work, creating all day, and not find myself drained. In fact, it fueled me! I could color correct photos for hours! I even find it soothing.
What I’m ultimately getting at here is that doing work that doesn’t fill your cup, just like relationships or anything else in your life, will leave you drained and unhappy and can have a serious impact on your mental health. I want to encourage you to continue to go after work, and relationships, that “fill YOUR cup!”
