Even Flow

Well, I guess the real last nasty of summer is the pain I always experience after doing the yard work. I spent the day hobbling around and doing my best not to make my arms scream at me. I know it's just muscle ache. I know I didn't injure anything. It's good to understand the difference.

I read an article on Lifehacker about how your ideal career lies somewhere between Flow and Meaning. Flow represents activities where you find yourself full and happy within the moment of doing the work. Because you find so much fulfillment with those tasks, you're driven to make them better and push yourself to improve. This isn't done out of fear or a sense of duty. It's done out of the pure enjoyment you find from the task.

Meaning represents the things you believe bring out the best version of yourself. Things that make you feel like you're doing more than just making money, you're making a difference in a way that resonates with you.

This is all very nice in theory. And mind you, it is about an IDEAL career, which may not be even something in existence or any context of practical reality. For instance, I find that I have the most Flow with fiber arts. I have a lot of contentment in crocheting things. It's also an area where I have a natural drive. I actively try new things with it. I went so far as to make basically a whole collection of things this year.

And you know what? It's very rare that anyone makes money with that! It's almost impossible to make a living doing it. So yeah, nice concept, but for some people, it doesn't really apply.