In continuing to seek out and understand my "why", I thought about the tribal aspect of "belonging" that we are programed as humans to seek out.
My thought is that part of it, is finding a cause to get behind and to go to battle with!
I think that we are seeking the positive pressure in the thing that we do, which in turn creates personal growth and gives us a purpose and sense of pride.
Something that will challenge you in the ways that lead to a better you. Something to fulfill your need for "esteem", and "love and belonging".
I thought about random hobbies that people have... skateboarding, hiking... even yodeling. They all have something in common. They aren't appealing to everyone, but they are appealing to some... and for some sort of intrinsic reason, people gravitate towards them.
People find enjoyment in such a wide variety of things... but why? There's an unlimited amount of hobbies... and some so niche, we can't even think of them... but still... people do them.
In this post I explore why I think your work should fulfill you, much like a hobby does. I think when you find this... it helps building out your "why" and things get so much funner.
It sounds crazy... but keep going...!
Your work should be like a hobby, but I don't think your hobby should necessarily be your work. So many people try to make their hobbies their work, but why doesn't anyone try to make their work a hobby?
I'm not trying to stifle your entrepreneurial spirit here... I'm just saying that you can find enjoyment and fulfillment in what you do, and it doesn't necessarily have to be the whole "chase your passion" thing.
Oddly enough I think by doing so, you'd probably have a better platform to actually chase your passion!
There are four broad characteristics of most hobbies... Cerebral, Physical, Creative and Community-Oriented Hobbies. A hobby can have one or many of these characteristics and can come in all shapes and forms.
Hiking, for example, is one of my favorite hobbies! It's physical, and community-oriented. It's great to do with friends, and I love the physical challenge.
One of my friends hikes, to find awesome spots for landscape photography... and in that case, it's also creative!
Skateboarding was my "first love" as a skater would say. I skated every day with my friends. It kept me active, and it was challenging for me both creatively and mentally!
I love skateboarding, and still do it when I find the inspiration to, but it could never be my work. I have friends that are great at it, and are actually pros! But for me, I see it as exactly what it is for me... just a hobby. Most of us aren't meant to be pro athletes, or our hobby isn't something you necessarily do as a career.
I think a lot of times, it's better to find work that feels like a hobby, rather than turning your hobby into your work -- That is when I feel people can sometimes get lead astray.
People can generally agree that hobbies are "fun", in whatever shape or form they come in.
What makes hiking up a mountain for an hour fun? What makes bailing on a skateboard and getting scraped up fun? Why do people decide to see how far they can swim in a frozen lake under a sheet of ice?
Here's a question... Why is it that when you jump off a roof on a skateboard its cool, but when you jump off at work... its not? I think it's our perception of what we are doing!
(DlSCLAIMER: IM NOT SAYING JUMP OFF A ROOF AT WORK!!! PLEASE DONT!)
I'm just saying... we get so caught up in thinking work has to be boring or bad, and hobbies get to be fun and exciting, but... I think we are missing something here!
If we looked at the things we like about work, rather than the things we don't... all of a sudden, you realize... it can actually be pretty fun.
The creative, cerebral and physical aspects of a hobby challenge you. It gives you something to strive at and become better at. The community-oriented aspect of the hobby gives you a tribe to belong to. In certain types of hobbies they may even help you with self-actualization!
I think those combination of things... fulfill our instinctual cravings as humans to be useful, belong and to fulfill our personal potentials.
Alex Hormozi is one of my favorite entrepreneurs and content creators as of late... tweeted something that me think about the self-actualization component of work.
Work should challenge you to become better, and provide that positive pressure to help you self-actualize.. and by doing so, I think it leads to giving you a sense of purpose.
You can find this in your work! In those ways, I think your work can be very similar to a hobby... and if it is, it suddenly becomes so much more enjoyable!
When work people ask me what type of hobbies I have outside of work... I jokingly... almost sarcastically say.. "work is my hobby". Thinking about it now, subconsciously... I probably say it, because deep down, it really is.
I get thrown in fires everyday... almost like bailing on a skateboard. But when you eat s***, you get back up and try again!
In my job there's always a new challenge... sometimes it feels like a mountain. But you put one step in front of another until you reach your destination... and when you get there, the views were always worth the pain! Kind of like a hike!
There was a game I used to play, called Runescape as a kid. My friends and I all used to link up on our cell phones, and log on to play together, all night!
The point of the game was to train your skills, complete quests, and unlock new items and areas to play in. Looking back, my job is very much the same way!
I've spent a lot of time learning over the years learning about accounting, finance, sales, operations, customer service, business technology... and my newest thing... marketing and rev-ops!
I like that it's a mentally challenging job, and requires me to learn a lot of new skills. It fulfills my need for esteem and self-actualization... as of right now, it challenges me to grow... sometimes it feels like playing a video game in real life!
Our team is amazing, and each of them bring something unique into our melting pot of talent... and that talent helps us push towards the next milestone. They are all very much different... and come from a wide range of backgrounds, but somehow we all come together... to push towards our common goal.
We contribute in the ways that we are good at, and band together to conquer the next challenge. A couple thousands years ago.. if I had to pick my tribe... these would be the guys I band with.
For those reasons... that it what makes my job a lot like a hobby, and I hope you can find something that feels the same for you!
“One of the things that made Apple great was that in the early days, it was built from the heart.”
~Steve Jobs, 1989