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Masterchef - Love what you do
Saturday 31 July 2010
Warning: Relatively serious post ahead.
A week has gone by and I am now willing to admit that I was one of the 55 bijillion people who watched the final episode of Masterchef last Sunday night. And despite all the tension, the clichés, the manipulated excitement, and the pompous judges, it was in fact great entertainment. But in the past week I have not really been reflecting that much on the show itself but on a particular comment that Callum, the runner up, made as to why he wants to be a chef.
At one point during the show he reflected on some words of wisdom of his father and said that his Dad had always told him to make sure you do something you love, otherwise life is not really worth living.
Perhaps it is just the stage of life I am in, or the current stresses of modern day work as to why that comment has stuck with me over the last 6 days, but the more I reflect on that statement I can’t see how it could possibly be true across society.
Take for example three particular occupations - crash scene investigators, child sexual assault prosecutors or sewerage factory workers – is there any way that someone doing one of those three jobs could say that they “love their job”? But would anybody say that the lives of the people who do those particular jobs are not worth living? Would anybody say that clearing dead bodies away from accidents, prosecuting people who sexually abuse young children, or dealing with human waste are not absolutely essential to our society.
Not everyone can love what they do in terms of work, can they?
Am I wrong in thinking that Callum can’t be right?
4 comments :
Hi Andrew, As always, loving your blog. I think that we can never fully love our jobs in this world - it's a fallen world - but definitely people can have a love for their job.
For example, crash scene investigators: Yes, it's a horrific thing often, but crash scene investigators can uncover truth, help to find out whether the accident was human, environment or the vehicle, and use that knowledge to help save future lives. E.g. campaigns about taking a break, drink driving, speeding etc, need evidence to back them up.
Sexual abuse prosecutors: Again, seeking justice for society's most vulnerable. I think that would be a very good thing - proving people committed crimes, and locking them up - to prevent other children being abused in future. I could see someone loving that.
3. Sewage factory workers. Yes, it's a shit job (literally), but society's disease and sanitary practices have improved enormously since the introduction of sewage. So I can see how people could be proud to be contributing to society in such a down and dirty way.
What do you think?
I think it's definitely possible to see the upside in a job you do, and to not hate those kinds of jobs.
Yes, they have horrible aspects, but they aren't designed to be horrible - and the aim is to improve things. So, basically what Georgina said.
Thanks for the comments. Perhaps it is the difference between loving your job and finding it satisfying. I still think that someone in one of the three jobs I mentioned would not say they "love their job", but perhaps find meaning or purpose in why they are enduring the horrible aspects of such particular jobs.
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