career as a tool
for either creative expression or enabling other pillars
i walked along the river in Verdun yesterday, at the end of the intense week i mentioned in a piece earlier this week. jenny just finished her crazy week and was with our daughter. the free bird i was, i launched myself to be near flowing water and the wild greenery (by urban standards).
energetically net-positive activities
i was relaxing for a bit, until i realized i didn’t want to relax. i had some untapped energy in me that was trying to crawl out of me. but i felt tired? energy management is a complex thing where we can feel fatigue while simultaneously wanting to exert ourselves in a very different way.
i knew i didn’t want to write, go for a run or climb, or answer some client messages. i would be doing myself and those involved with whatever activity a disservice if i did it, because my heart wouldn’t be invested in the task at hand and i would genuinely wonder what the point would be of even doing it then.
i’ve learned a lot this year about creative work requiring the highest version of me at all times, and if i can’t summon that highest self, then the act of being creative loses me time and energy in the process and ultimately amounts to nothing useful. the act must be as pure as possible.
not to say i need to be my best self when creating. i think that’s unrealistic. my best self means best-case in terms of energy, mood, ideas, etc., whereas my highest self can be energy-deprived, but my soul is oriented in the right direction for whatever i’m doing to be worth my while.
i didn’t want to create, but i had some sort of generative drive that was keeping me from "relaxing,” aka just sitting on the rocks reading my book.
i remembered there’s a friend who i’ve been meaning to catch up with and i knew was in a pivotal moment in his life. i realized i would absolutely love walking along the river and having a deep convo with someone who i care about.
this is exactly the type of activity that i will expend energy doing, but is giving me back much more energy than i’m spending. it’s energetically net-positive. i carefully comb through my life to find these gems; i’ve stacked up enough of these where it allows me to have relatively high output without relying on white-knuckling through life.
intentionally working a 9-5
i got on the phone with my friend. he told me how he’s planning to quit his job because (1) his current role is no longer growing him in the direction he wants to go, and (2) he’s reached his limit with lacking time for what he cares about outside of work, namely his relationships, his dog, and his movement.
we talked about “trad jobs,” which he explained to me is a traditional 9-5 type job where you can clock in and out, not take your work home with you, and have all the things that come with work being compartmentalized to its limited role in your life.
i grew up in an environment where having a trad job was synonymous for giving up, not being interesting, not being a better person. it’s something i’ve been able to unlearn by defining what success looks like to me, independent of others.
but it did get me thinking: intentionally using a trad job as a tool to enable all other parts of my life…that could get interesting. imagine having an empty mind and no laptop around with you when you’re home after your finite workday, getting to have time and energy for all sorts of passions and hobbies, or just consistently taking it easy with those you love most.
career is suddenly used to enable all other aspects of life to flourish. a holistic approach to life where one’s daily existence is enjoyable and is fulfilling as an end itself. instead of as a means to some promised land that makes the slog worth it.
to be fully alive with this approach, one needs to have some sort of passion or hobby that serves as a creative vehicle outside of work, otherwise creative suppression takes place. the creative vehicle takes up time. i can’t help but do the math and realize that the chill job lifestyle doesn’t end up being so chill (for me) because i’d be dedicating the same net hours than if I was taking the “career = creative endeavour” approach below. i do acknowledge that many people are built differently and are naturally satisfied with a more passive approach to life.
this also falls apart if i am so energy-deprived because of the mundane nature of my trad job that i need to spend my time on hobbies just so i’m not depressed. then the whole time-saving proposition of this approach to work is cancelled out.
but if someone else tells me they work for their municipality in some sort of calm, predictable role that makes them overall a more loving more passionate person, i honestly commend that and i will applaud them. that’s smart. the only reason choosing to work a 9-5 job is smart and not sad is because it’s been thoughtfully selected.
a vehicle for creativity
then there’s the other side of the coin, a truly opposite pursuit, which is where my clients come from. i love this side of the coin because there is a fire in someone who deeply cares about their efforts going in the right direction for the right reasons.
these type of people (myself included) use career as a tool in a very different way than what i mentioned before. we use it as a way to exercise our intellect and turn ideas into reality. in other words, treating work as a craft, as a way of being.
in one way, this is extremely efficient. if i’m able to get paid for doing something that energizes me and makes me a better version of myself all within my “work day,” then theoretically i am satisfied in the creative dimension when i switch to other dimensions outside of my work, such as being with my daughter or gunning it on my road bike.
where this approach goes sideways is when i am pursuing work as a craft for the wrong reasons, basically anything that is not intrinsic motivation. then the work truly feels like work and does not generate a substantial energetic net-positive result.
i’m currently at a place in my life where i have more creativity than i would’ve ever imagined, so i feel very compelled to express my ideas through my current work setup of TKS (the furthest thing from a 9-5 job) and my coaching practice.
my current setup allows me to be creative, make money, and be the most me version of me, i think…this is the best permutation i can muster up for now at least.
i think we end up using our career as a tool in the most appropriate way for ourselves if we have a proper grasp of who “ourselves” is. both approaches seem to be equally valid, it’s just knowing what you’re after at the top of the life decision tree, what you’re optimizing for and exerting yourself for.
i congratulate my friend on approaching his career decisions with such thoughtfulness, keeping his eye squarely on the bigger picture. i’m excited to see in what way he uses his career as a tool.