The Monotony of Work

Hello everyone,
my first post here after lots of reading. Seems like posters here are generally intelligent and interesting.

I have a question - are you happy with your current careers?
What do you do?
If not, what would you like to do?

Careers.... hmmm...... what we do to make money to follow our dreams..... or what we dream to do and try to make enough money to do it?

either or both really.

i find it sad that it has to be mutually exclusive.
and even sadder that i would be considered naive to want my work to be a part of life rather than a means to one

Everyone is sitting on their own pot of gold. But very few ever bother to look. Something that only they are capable of and that others will pay for.

Instead, because of a chronic lack of confidence, coupled with a fascist onslaught of self-perpetuating 'you-must-fit-in' media messages, people do exactly that...try to fit in.

And so, very few ever get a taste of their real talents. Talents that will give them the unshakeable self-esteem that the powers that be are in horror of them having. Better to have a populace that has the ongoing subconscious resonance of failure.

And because of this resonance of failure, we all do our best to make sure that those around us are never taken seriously when some stand their ground and attempt to make their real talents pay.

We are seldom encouraging enough to our friends and family in this regard.

This is because we fear they might succeed. And if we don't do as they do right now, we fear we will never catch up. Also, if someone actually begins to pilot their own life, it highlights just how many haven't the first idea how to.

You see, if you don't sail your own ship, then life will do it for you. And hence you never really grow up, and you will certainly never be happy on your own terms. Your happiness will always be borrowed, and dependent on others.

If you let life sail your ship, then a pre-existing career will be your route, whether employed or self-employed.

But if you decide to sail your own ship, the ocean is yours.

But, beware. Self-navigation, whilst having much greater highs, is only for those who are built for endurance.

Endurance. Persistence.

Because you live in a world where 98% of people do as they are told, sometimes that ocean will get a little storm tossed.

yes, definitely food for thought.

I think this is the sort of dilemma I am having right now, searching for this 'talent' that I may or may not have.
I am afraid that my constant search for something better will just breed a life of miscontent and that is not what I am after. It would be ironic that I live a life of miscontent while searching for something that will eventually satisfy me.

I've been asked on numerous occasions what I want to do with my life - but the question seems always to refer to a job or career path. I have never been able to truthfully answer this to my satisfaction and I honestly still can't. I think it is because I want to find something to dedicate my life to, not just a job or a career. But as with many things, the need for money seems to overshadow exploration.

I suppose this thread is more about how people have found a balance between doing what they have to (for money) and what they love - if they've found it at all, or to share what they've learned so far on their journey.

i love being a student, i hate working to pay for college. I am looking to become a packaging engineer. i want to be in R and D for new technologies for greener products in the packaging world.

right now i'm working just anything. for two months i'll be working in a childrens wear cloth then i'll move to bartending in summer, meanwhile i'm filling applications in schools... i want to work with kids...i studied psychology in uni but i don't i'll be doing buisness with it. Other than this i work on crafts, paintings and handmade stuff...i display them at a friends place. Now what i would like to work is...being an art director for ads or movies if i'm going to dream myself away, i would also love to become a philosophy teacher in the future... Next year if i'm still in lebanon i'm going to be either majoring in agriculture ( i love trees, they make me happy) either in plastic arts ( to developp my techniques). I don't like what i do now but i give it my full. If i'm going to sell something i want it to be something i believe in.