Why “Do What You Love”Is Terrible Advice

By Tom Popomaronis

“原諒我這一生不羈放縱愛自由/也會(huì)怕有一天會(huì)跌倒……”不知有沒有人跟我一樣，曾把“做自己喜歡的事情”奉為自由的真諦。只是現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中，又有多少人能夠隨心所欲，做自己喜歡的事情呢？如果長(zhǎng)期執(zhí)迷于此，或許你非但實(shí)現(xiàn)不了自己曾經(jīng)的理想，甚至?xí)^望墮落、迷失自我。對(duì)多數(shù)人來(lái)說(shuō)，可能“做你擅長(zhǎng)的事”才是最切實(shí)可行的工作之道。

Do What You Love.

It’s got its own acronym1. acronym: 首字母縮略詞?！狣WYL (try Googling it). It’s printed on cushions and plastered over inspirational JPEGs on Tumblr.2. cushion: 軟墊；plaster: 占滿，充斥于；inspirational: 鼓舞人心的；JPEG: Photograph Experts Group 聯(lián)合圖像專家組（一種計(jì)算機(jī)圖像格式）；Tumblr: 中文名為“湯博樂”，成立于2007年，是目前全球最大的輕博客網(wǎng)站。It conjures up images of a utopian paradise where we all go to work skipping, sing during our lunch break, and can’t wait to go back the next day.3. 它使我們聯(lián)想到一種烏托邦式的天堂：我們蹦蹦跳跳地去上班，午休時(shí)歡聲歌唱，第二天還會(huì)迫不及待地想去上班。conjure up: 使在腦海浮現(xiàn)；utopian: 烏托邦式的。

But it’s terrible career advice. It’s misleading. It’s elitist4. elitist: 精英主義的。. It’s not even realistic. I wouldn’t dare tell anyone I care about to “Do What You Love.” Here’s why:

1. It’s Dehumanizing5. dehumanizing: 使失掉人性的。

If we live in a world where Do What You Love is the ultimate career goal,where does that leave anyone who doesn’t love what they do?6. 如果我們所生活的世界將“做你喜歡的事情”作為終極職業(yè)目標(biāo)的話，那么那些從事著自己并不喜歡的工作的人們將被置于何地？ultimate: 最終的。Most people don’t love their jobs in the way they love their dogs or re-runs of The Simpsons.7. re-run: 重播；The Simpsons: 《辛普森一家》，美國(guó)?？怂箯V播公司的一部著名動(dòng)畫情景喜劇。

If you are one of those managing to be legitimately joyous at work,8. legitimately: 正當(dāng)?shù)?；joyous: 快樂的。then you’re one of a lucky few. As an entrepreneur,I certainly love what I do and I’m not afraid to admit it—but I also realize that I’m incredibly fortunate.9. entrepreneur: 企業(yè)家；incredibly: 難以置信地。

The point is, too much emphasis on DWYL could leave those who don’t love their work feeling ashamed or like failures. Sure, they have a job, but do they love that job? No. So they must not be doing something right. Yet for many, doing what they love at work isn’t as important as supporting those they love at home. Who is to say one is better than the other?For those not in a position to DWYL, the obsession with it risks devaluing their work and dehumanizing them in the process.10. 對(duì)于那些不能“做你喜歡的事情”的人來(lái)說(shuō)，一直執(zhí)迷于此會(huì)降低他們的工作價(jià)值，使他們喪失自我。be in a position to: 能夠；obsession: 著迷；devalue: 使貶值。

2. It’s Inaccurate11. inaccurate: 錯(cuò)誤的。

Most people work incredibly hard, and not just those who work manual labor12. manual labor: 體力勞動(dòng)。. While writers, coders, and real estate agents don’t have calloused hands to show for their toil, if they’re any good, they work hard.13. 盡管作家、編碼員、房地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)人沒有長(zhǎng)滿老繭的雙手來(lái)證明自己的辛苦，但值得肯定的是，他們都努力萬(wàn)分。 coder: 編碼員；real estate agent:房地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)人；calloused: 長(zhǎng)了老繭的；toil: 辛苦工作；any good: 〈口〉有用，有任何用處。Really hard. And to tell them that they should “l(fā)ove it” is just plain insulting.14. (just) plain: 十分，完全（表示強(qiáng)調(diào)）；insulting: 侮辱的。Because working hard means dedication, focus, and constant selfimprovement.15. dedication: 奉獻(xiàn)；constant: 持續(xù)不斷的。And it’s impossible to love every moment of these processes without being a masochist16. masochist: 受虐狂。. Sure, great work brings great rewards, but for every moment of joy, there are many more moments of banging your head against the wall,or ripping it all up and starting again.17. bang: 猛撞；rip up: 把……撕碎。That’s the price of success. Even those we hail as the gods of DWYL—i.e., athletes and musicians—work really hard, and doubtfully love every second.18. hail as: 稱贊為；athlete: 運(yùn)動(dòng)員。Many of you have heard it, but Michael Jordan used to put in hundreds of jump shots a day between gym time in the off-season;a young Eddie Van Halen would sit on his bed practicing all night,19. Michael Jordan: 邁克爾·喬丹，美國(guó)籃球明星；jump shot:跳投（籃球）；gym time: 健身時(shí)間；off-season:（一個(gè)賽季末和下一賽季初之間球隊(duì)的）休賽期；Eddie Van Halen: 艾迪·范·海倫，美國(guó)著名重金屬樂隊(duì)Van Halen的吉他手，20世紀(jì)最杰出的吉他演奏家之一。while his brother was out dating.

3. It’s Elitist

High-status jobs are in short supply. And due to the nature of supply and demand, there are many more people who want to be CEOs, lead guitar players,and successful tech entrepreneurs than there are jobs.The vast majority of those who do get these jobs have massive advantages due to their socio-economic status,ethnicity, or just plain good looks.20. socio-economic: 社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)的； ethnicity: 種族特點(diǎn)。

In other words, it’s not a level playing field—even at the entry level, where businesses recruit via unpaid internships.21. 換句話說(shuō)，這是個(gè)不公平的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)環(huán)境——甚至從初始階段開始（就是不公平的），有些企業(yè)招聘的實(shí)習(xí)生都是不帶薪的。level playing field: 公平競(jìng)爭(zhēng)環(huán)境；recruit: 招聘；internship: 實(shí)習(xí)。This requires job hopefuls to bankroll their living costs while earning nothing.22. hopeful: 此處指有希望成功的人； bankroll: 為……提供資金。In fact, in this case,Do What You Love needs a caveat23. caveat: 警告?！狪f You Can Afford It. You’re going to need rich parents or benefactors if you want to live in NYC and work for free.24. benefactor: 資助人；NYC: 紐約市（New York City）。What’s the advice for those who can’t afford it? Find a sugar momma/daddy25. sugar momma/daddy: 甜媽 / 爹，在青年男子 / 女子身上濫花錢的老色迷。?

So if Do What You Love isn’t good advice, what is?

Do what you’re naturally good at.

It’s not a searchable acronym and it’s not printed on cushions. But it’s great advice, backed up26. back up: 支持。by social science research.

First off, studies show that the greater the mismatch between your job and your skills, the less happy you’re likely to be. In other words, if you don’t do something you’re good at (even if you “l(fā)ove” it), you won’t be happy. Secondly, according to leading happiness researcher Martin Seligman, the best way to find a job that will truly satisfy you is to focus on one that aligns with27. align with: 與……一致。your core strengths.

艾迪·范·海倫

邁克爾·喬丹

In other words, where DWYL is vague and almost trite in its simplicity, Do What You’re Good At (DWYGA) is in many ways measurable and involved.28. vague: 模糊的；trite: 陳腐的，老一套的；simplicity: 簡(jiǎn)單；measurable: 重要的。It applies in almost every situation and it doesn’t have a minimum or maximum achievement goal.29. minimum: 最小的； maximum:最大的。Are you naturally good with people? Consider becoming a teacher,a tour guide, or politician—even if you hadn’t considered it before. Are you good at working with data, and don’t particularly like working with large groups of people? Consider becoming a developer30. developer: 開發(fā)人員。. Social science research also suggests that just because you’re not good at a specific task now, doesn’t mean—you won’t be in the future.

The point is, it can be an easy out31. out: n. 脫身之計(jì)，推脫的借口。to just say, “Do what you love!” It’s supported in the culture but in reality can ultimately lead to feelings of worthlessness, confusion, and desperation. By contrast,offering, “DWYGA” can require some research and reflection. It means suggesting that someone take the time to consider what their natural strengths are, and then seeing which jobs align with those.

So the next time you see a cushion that says Do What You Love,ponder32. ponder: 仔細(xì)考慮。, perhaps, the person who made it. Do they love their job?What would your advice be to them?

DWYGA!