Bukowski got half of it right- “Find what you love”
But as for the other half, how about let it fill you? Or something more life-affirming.
Work is good.
Not as an end unto itself, but as a vehicle for growth and service.
In whatever humble or grandiose way, you can improve yourself and the world each day.
And this is the recipe for a happy life.
It is the process of work that is satisfying, not the outcomes (such as prestige or money).
It’s funny- although most of us can intellectually grasp this, still emotionally we fall into the trap of working for the outcomes, again and again.
Find me a man who’s happy with his job, and I’ll show you a happy man. (And vice versa!)
For those of us with the luxury of choice in our work there are definitely no excuses, but more important even than what our job is, is how we perform it.
We could be a grumpy CEO who everyone avoids at the water cooler…
Or, we could the the ever-cheerful cleaner who greets everyone with a smile.
Work is good.
Find work you love and let it enliven you.