How to Choose the Work that Makes You Happiest.

From Walter Murch, an Academy Award-winning film editor and sound designer:

“As I’ve gone through life, I’ve found that your chances for happiness are increased if you wind up doing something that is a reflection of what you loved most when you were somewhere between nine and eleven years old…At that age, you know enough of the world to have opinions about things, but you’re not old enough yet to be overly influenced by the crowd or by what other people are doing or what you think you ‘should’ be doing. If what you do later on ties into that reservoir in some way, then you are nurturing some essential part of yourself. It’s certainly been true in my case. I’m doing now, at fifty-eight, almost exactly what most excited me when I was eleven.

“But I went through a whole late-adolescent phase when I thought: Splicing sounds together can’t be a real occupation, maybe I should be a geologist or teach art history.”
-- from The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film

* Interested in starting your own happiness project? If you’d like to take a look at my personal Resolutions Chart, for inspiration, just email me at grubin, then the “at” sign, then gretchenrubin dot com. (Sorry about writing it in that roundabout way; I’m trying to thwart spammers.) Just write “Resolutions Chart” in the subject line.

Comments

[Alexandre]

This, I can certainly relate to. Although, I would say that the exact ages may vary from person to person.
What Murch says about being nine and eleven I've been saying about being eight. At the time, I wanted to do and be everything: become a mayor, heal people, go to space... Right after that, around eight or nine, I became obsessed with becoming a lawyer and I was collecting as much information as possible about the time needed for the bar exam and specific job requirements. But, by thirteen, I decided to become an anthropologist, so I could approach the diversity and depth of human life.
I'm now a very happy anthropologist.
And an informal ethnographer. http://www.informalethnographer.com/

[Positively Present]

This is really interesting -- and probably true. For me, I've always loved to write and when I was between the ages of 9 and 11 I'm pretty sure I thought I would be a writer of some sort...perhaps I should get to work on making that into a career!

[Drew Scherz]

When I was between the ages of nine and eleven I mostly wanted to be a race car driver (influenced by the movie Grand Prix) or do a lot of fishing. While I enjoy driving I don't think I want to race for a living or fish either. I agree with one of the above posters that the age may vary for each of us, but probably our important interests have their roots in our youth. I always wanted to do something that helped people realize their potential and helped them achieve greater happiness (hence my interest in this project).

[Marissa]

When I was that age, I didn't have an answer to the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Now that I'm in my early thirties, I still don't have the answer. Maybe some of us are destined to do nothing in particular?

[Ashely]

The problem with that for me is when I was that age, the thing I loved most is reading books. Sadly, that (or watching TV/other stories) cannot be made into a career unless you like to write about it which I don't.

[The Healthy Librarian]

I'm buying into Walter's theory. It holds true for me.

From the minute I got my first library card at age 8 I was hooked on books and I was always coming up with projects to research. It was just plain fun then, and it still is today. Some things never change.

Good thing I decided to become a research librarian--but blogging is even more fun, because now I get to pick the topic to research.

The Secret To Success: Do Something You Love, Practice A Lot, Pay Attention & Get Feedback

http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/2009/05/practice.html

[Kane]

Marissa, I'm in the same boat you are. At 31 I'm quitting my job and trying to hit the "reset" button on my life. Maybe some of aren't destined to anything in particular, maybe we're simply destined to explore. :)

Ashely, have you thought of being an editor for a publishing company or possibly a magazine? I've even heard larger blog sites will hire (full time or freelance) proof-readers. I just googled "freelance proofreading jobs" and got 186,000 hits. Have at it. ;)

[Jenny]

has anyone read Alain de Botton's latest on work? his main thesis (tho' I've only heard interviews so far) is that the idea that work should provide so much fulfilment is a C19th construct similar to the idea that we should marry for love. In the old days, a certain strata of society married for dynastic/financial reasons, and took lovers to satisfy the other side. Similarly, we did jobs that were so-so, but had hobbies. Now we expect our jobs to fulfill us.

I'm not dissing the idea that it's good to be fulfilled by what we do 8 or more hours a day. I was certainly brought up with the idea that I could choose whatever I wanted to do, based on what I'd be happy doing. Pah, I became a lawyer. I don't think I was capable of knowing what woudl make me happy, not for a lifetime, anyway!
I want to read Alain's book, I think there's something in his analysis.

[Laurie]

The hardest part for me was choosing only one thing. Then I realized that I can do one thing for now and then move on to another as time goes by - and I'm happy doing all of it.

[Angela]

I fundamentally agree with Mr. Murch's assessment. I think the age at which one understands this may vary from person to person, though. When I was young, I wanted to be a writer, a lawyer, and a teacher. While I do only one as a full-time profession, I've found a way to incorporate all three into my life, as well as other interests I've picked up along the way. Do I do all 3 as much as I would like? No, but I am not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good!

[EscapeVelocity]

I don't think the horse cavalry is hiring right now.

[Era]

As stated above, the age may vary, and a definite occupation may not be identified. However, various interests may share certain tell-tale characteristics that can lead to the discovery of one's passion and calling in life.

I always leaned to the artistic but thought that only as a lawyer or doctor could I really make a living. So I became a lawyer. Not my passion, and now I look elsewhere.

The clues were there in my childhood, but I didn't know how to read them. Luckily I can at least help my children recognize their passions while I try to start over with mine.

[Vi]

Walter Murch's words are definitely inspirational. I think we need to know ourselves and be honest with ourselves in order to find out what we love to do and what would be a suitable career. Just last week, I wrote a blog entry that's somewhat related to this post. It's a critique on the advice of doing what you love.
Check it out if you are interested:
http://www.maximizingutility.com/2009/05/maximize-your-producer-surplus.html

[Tony]

It seems like Marissa, Kane, and Laurie are all what author Margaret Lobenstine would call "Renaissance Souls". These are people that have too many interests to choose just one and that have never had just one thing that made them happy (at any age). I count myself in this group.

I was always jealous of people who said "Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a..." I always felt like I was too scattered. I thought of myself as a jack of all trades, master of none. Now, I've learned to embrace my lack of long-term focus and enjoy doing many different things both under one "umbrella" career and as hobbies.

By being a Renaissance Soul, you join the ranks of great people throughout history who couldn't/wouldn't chose just one thing to do, like Ben Franklin and Leonardo da Vinci.

Check out "The Renaissance Soul", it is a good read and may make you realize that what you thought was ADD may be your greatest strength:

http://www.amazon.com/Renaissance-Soul-Design-People-Passions/dp/0767920880

[MJ]

Two items - it is interesting how many passionless lawyers read this site (probably because we see one of our own who escaped and understands why people like Michael Melcher write and coach the way he does) and the reference to the Renaissance Soul book and coaching raises a huge problem in the American workplace today - strong emphasis on a questionable need to specialize and over-focus on the job at hand.

To put this into the context of law, since so many readers are lawyers, this arises in law firms' desires to pigeon-hole lawyers into practice areas, then ever more specialized niches, and expect increased hour and revenue generation, year after year, until death or retirement. Contrast that with many of the people who go into law - smart, with many interests, but didn't know what else to do or where pushed by family into a "good job" - and you have the perfect storm of bored, miserable people who have MUCH more to offer and a workplace that only wants one thing (24/7 commitment) and doesn't know how to take advantage of any energy or talent left. The answers are to be miserable or leave.

Then again - what workplace does know how to best use people (we know how to stick them into a small box and nail the lid on tight, but not to help them grow and develop more to offer)?

I'd love to see a radical, revolutionary change to our ideas of work and career (being limiting, life long pursuits of the same track ad infinitum with no variety since that would be "flaky" or "not committed enough") and some kind of embrace of getting the best out of people instead of sucking them dry. But I have no idea how/why/when that will happen...

[Meream]

Interesting. I remember always watching this show Great Palaces of Europe and wanting to be a writer for TV. Some sort of a writer who brings information to the rest of the world. Not news, but more interesting stuff.

[Kristy]

When I was 9, I spent every waking minute playing with LEGOs. Hours upon hours of LEGOs. Maybe I should have been an engineer? Or a town planner? You should have seen the towns I built.

[Cecilia]

When I was about 9 years old my cousin and I used to stage plays in her backyard. We created scripts and programs and had the audacity to charge neighbors and family members admission (25 cents). I enjoyed writing those plays as much as anything I've ever done. Like Kane, at 38 years old I am now trying to extricate myself from an unfulfilling job and start over as a writer. The only things stopping me are a fear of poverty (there are two kids and a mortgage involved), the suspicion that I won't be disciplined enough to actually sit down and write every day, and, of course, the prospect of discovering that I'm a not-so-talented writer after all. So glad I found this blog--it's really encouraging.

[Angela]

I found a lot of truth in your post, MJ. I tried private practice for awhile and strongly disliked having a specialty. I also have a lot of the "Renaissance Soul" in me, too. I currently practice in house as a generalist, and this work suits me well. I guess I'm one lawyer who genuinely likes her job. It is my hope that there are more.

[Raphael Araujo]

Brilliant! I often go back to those years of my life when I was definitely passionate about so many things. We often end up losing that feeling somewhere along the way and it's so important to find it again and let it fuel us towards happiness.

[Lucy]

well this would be a recipe for everyone wants to be astronauts, ballerinas, doctors hairdressers and dinosaur hunters. I'm not sure my 8 year old self could grasp the subtlety of all kinds of intangible jobs that are available to us that might provide great satisfaction. How many younger children would want to be a life coach, physiotherapist, or a publisher? I get the point that people might be able to tap into those early passions (but think that in many cases they might need to be *interpreted* more broadly).