Quality of Life Goes Up With Work You Enjoy Doing

Shanif Dhanani
Aug 26, 2017 · 2 min read

Lately it’s occurred to me that I really like what I do right now. I’m fascinated by the work, very hopeful about the end goal improving my life and the lives of others, have a great team, and am challenged. I’m also not making any money right now (but have a decent enough plan around the business and technology that I think we’ll get there soon-ish).

Despite that last point, my outlook on life has improved dramatically and my quality of life is significantly better than when I was working on things I just didn’t care about.

Doing stuff you enjoy makes a big difference when it comes to mental health. I realize it’s not always doable. In fact for me, until recently, it took a back seat to making salary and stability. Even though I realized this a long time ago, I’ve only now been able to act on it.

It seems like a lot of folks have to ride out their 20s doing things they don’t enjoy to get to a place where they can work on stuff they want to be doing. I don’t think it’s ever too late. I actually have a good friend who went back to med school in his 30s — he’s loving every minute of it, and he knows that this is where he wants to be. I think the most important thing to do when you realize you’re not in your ideal situation is to figure out how to change things so you can get to where you want to be.

Again, certainly not easy, but this world is full of opportunities, with thousands of different possible directions you can go with your life, so finding something you care about is a matter of getting to a point where you’re stable, working like crazy, figuring out what you actually care about, and getting yourself to a point where you can work on that consistently. Not easy, but doable.

)

Written by

Co-founder & CEO of Apteo. We’re a fintech startup that’s building a data science platform for everyone. Sign up free at www.apteo.co.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade