The Difference Between Enjoying Something and Doing Something
“Just because you enjoy something doesn’t mean you’re supposed to do it”
I heard this interesting statement last night and it really captured something I’ve been thinking about recently. That is, the difference between creating something and enjoying something. Let me explain…
I recently went to Disneyland. And, whenever I go to Disneyland I’m reminded of all the incredible little things they do to create an atmosphere of magic, creativity and fun. Every little detail on the rides are accounted for. All the little store fronts, streets, buildings and statues are carefully created so that the feeling of ‘magic’ flows seamlessly. It’s truly awe inspiring when you really start to look at all the details put into the park and it’s creation. Disneyland is another one of those creative masterpieces that I love to sit back and enjoy.
Step back 15 years. When I was younger, I wanted to be in on this creative process, I wanted to be a film composer. Like John Williams, I wanted to write music that spared no detail, and accented movies that left audiences craving for more. In short, I wanted to be a part of the creation of masterpieces. But slowly as I got older, and even worked at building a career in film scoring, I started to realize that while I thoroughly enjoyed film scores themselves, I didn’t thoroughly enjoy the process of creating scores. I found other things that I enjoyed much more than sitting down and writing music. This was big, and it taught me an interesting lesson that I’ve been learning over and over again – there is a huge difference between enjoying something and doing something.
Now, before I go out and do something, I ask myself: Do I really like doing this, or do I just enjoy the end result. Because it’s one thing to enjoy a movie, a piece of music or Disneyland, it’s quite another to create them. The difference can literally be night and day.
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I agree with you. I do a lot of writing. However I have found that one of my hobbies that I write about (Brazilian Jiu-jitsu) garners a lot more attention than my more serious writings. I have even been nominated for best blogs, paid for free-lance articles on the subject, etc.
But, I do not necessarily want to do that for a living. I don’t want my hobby to be my full time job. I am a professor and have deeper interests that grab my attention as well.
Yeah, it’s a pretty interesting subject. One of the bottom lines for me is what I do in my free time. I noticed that i spend a lot more free time programming and writing code. So logically that’s something I enjoy actually doing. Where as I wouldn’t often sit and write or play music during my free time.