Do What You Hate

We live in a "snapshot world." That is, most of our events, news stories, and advice is given from a specific point in time, and a narrative is created around that moment. For example, a hiker is standing at the top of a mountain with the narrative spelling out how beautiful the view is, the breeze they are feeling through their hair, and the sense of a accomplishment that permeates their being. Or the smiling executive that radiates a sense of satisfaction as they look our the glass window of their neatly arranged office, light shining off the polished desk with the caption:

Do What You Love

Blazed right below the photo, typically using an energetic font or typeface. We see this framed in similar advice like "Follow Your Passion" or books titled "Don't Do Stuff You Hate." 

The challenge is that for most people, reaching a fulfilling career doing what they love meant that they had to go through the awkward stages of growth where they didn't quite know what to do; through brutal all-night system outages to learn that failover and redundancy are not just a luxury to be had; through frustrating study sessions where the concept just didn't make sense. 

In the end, doing what you love is a journey that will pass you through many valleys of doing things you hate.