“Follow your dreams.”
To me, this sentiment is misguided because it’s still rooted in a desire for some external thing “out there” in the future and oftentimes it’s a mentality that comes at the expense of what is already in front of us.
For me now, it’s not about searching for meaning, following your passion, or pursuing your dreams. It’s about imbuing whatever meaning and passion in the work I’m already doing. You’re living the dream if you find the dream in what you’re already doing – it’s all relative anyhow since one’s reality is someone else’s so-called “dream.”
You’ll love what you do if you put the love into it. That comes from within, and not from the activity itself.
This doesn’t mean that one should make a big shift, or to quit something to start something else. But that whatever fulfillment one finds in their work has to come from within.
As a filmmaker, this is something I’ve had to remind myself. It’s about the process as much if not more than the final result, even if at times the process can be somewhat painful and frustrating! But to me it’s not about pleasure, happiness, or even “fun” – it’s about committing to a working on something with purpose.
And staying motivated even in the darkest of times comes down to gratitude. Being grateful for the people who have jumped on board with you, and the people who you don’t expect to come forward but do in spades to support you. And that gratitude, at least for me, really helps to inform why I do what I do.