Love what you do and do what you love

IT HAS taken me a long time to learn what I just said in the title of this post but eventually like a tortoise in a race with the hare, I did. Better late than never as I always say.
I love my job. It gives me great satisfaction and I share my views about my profession with colleagues who share my views. Together we found that we love coming to work. It helps the day to move that much faster.
When a person does something he loves, time seems to stand still. Do something that one loves doesn't necessarily mean a job, it could be anything from a hobby to just exercising.
When passion is involved, the whole body, mind and soul get together and do the job. Many years ago, I had several pen-pals spread across the world. It was one of those things that seemed to be rather popular among youths my age.
I recall I had one pen-pal from South Vietnam, one from Canada, two from Singapore and several in my own country. I was corresponding with all of them at the same time. During those days, Internet did not exist. So it was plain pen and paper. Even typewriters were rare. I had to pay extra attention to my handwriting.
Illegible handwriting can lose a person valuable pen-pals. So I made sure my handwriting was legible, even if it wasn't beautiful.
At that time, one of my hobbies was collecting First Day Covers. After a while, my pen-pals started to send me First Day Covers from their own countries. Today, I have a fair collection of foreign First Day Covers. It was one of those things which gave me great joy.
Even posting those written letters gave my spirit a lift. There was also a time when I was still in school, I love to cycle. I had this old trusty bicycle and it served me rather well. No need to fill in with petrol. It was just pedal power and I cycled for miles and miles and I didn't get tired.
Years later, I found out that doctors say cycling is good for the heart. Well, what do you know I told myself. I had been making my heart strong all the time, and I didn't know that.
I have office colleagues who come to office everyday as if they are attend a funeral. It's so sad to see them dragging themselves to work. When I asked them why did they continue doing it when they feel so miserable, they replied that it was to feed their family and they just can't wait to retire.
Those were some of the saddest words I have ever heard, simply because they were still a long way to go before retirement.
I actually saw this sign "love your job and everyday is a holiday to you." How true it is. Everybody should learn to love what they do, regardless of the profession.
At first, if you don't love your job, then find good things about your job and gradually you will develop a love for it. If you fail to be amused by your job, then it's time to switch profession. Really do something you love.
When you are passionate about your job, your boss will realise it after a while because of the quality of your work. People who take pride in what they do often produce great work. That is the truth.
There are high-powered executives who give up their office jobs in exchange for hobbies which they secretly love. Of course, the income from their new job is much lower than the previous one but they don't care because the joy they get out of their chosen profession repays them in more ways than one.
Individuals who love their jobs bounce out of their bed every morning, looking forward to another day "in the office". In their case, their office could very well be their home.
So if you have always wanted to be a gardener, then be a professional gardener of outstanding ability. Soon, everybody will know you as a "landscape engineer." I think that's the term that is given to people who are experts in gardening. These are also the people who charge rather high fees for consultation and a bit of manual work.
Love what you do and do what you love - I can't say it often enough. If you don't believe me, try it yourself. It's time to give yourself a break. Your family may even welcome the change because you won't be sulking around the house anymore.