Doing what you love: How to do it.

You're unhappy and then people say, "you should just do what you love," but sometimes (or actually most of the time) you don't succeed. It may be because of the work you have, your environment or just yourself. Still, this is often the case. So do you want to do more of what you love? Then this blog was written for you

What's fun.

When you go to the Van Dale website and type in fun the following meaning comes up:

"nice (adjective, adverb) 1 funny; = pleasant: a nice remark 2 pleasantly tuneful, bringing pleasure: a nice party"

When you do or experience something that is enjoyable it puts you in a good mood (pleasant mood) and thus makes you feel good.

Why it's important to do what you love

As mentioned, it makes you feel good, and good feelings are always better than bad feelings. Doing what you enjoy keeps you healthy and keeps you meaning in life.

Take for example Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the rock band The Rolling Stones.

Mick Jagger was hospitalized some time ago. 75 is the old Rock and Roller, and for many people, especially of that age, open-heart surgery where a heart valve needs to be replaced would be a reason to get scared or go easy.

'I hope to perform 17 concerts again in two months...,' said Jagger

And then jump, dance and run ten kilometers across a stage. Because that's what Mick does on the side.

Fascinating don't you think?

75 years old and rocking like a young dog. Why? He can't do anything else. He doesn't want anything else. This is who he is. This is his zone of genius. This is where he is Mick and then why stop.

He super enjoys making music, has managed to make it his job, and is apparently so healthy doing what he enjoys that even at ⁷⁵ he still gives concerts and acts like someone in his 20s.

Doing what you love is apparently something that keeps you sane.

Scientists have also discovered this. Although it makes perfect sense, of course, it’s still reassuring to know that it’s been scientifically studied. Are you a workaholic, for example? That doesn’t necessarily mean you absolutely love your job. It does, however, mean you feel deeply committed to your work (like Mick Jagger).

When you experience burnout, you may even find yourself doing work for which you simply lack internal motivation[1]. You usually don’t do that work because you enjoy it, but rather because it pays well, for example.

Eventually, you’ll just end up getting sick because you’re doing something you don’t enjoy, whereas if you do what you love, it will actually make you successful and healthy.

Fun at Work also helps you feel more connected to your work and colleagues. It's a way to feel like you belong and that you can trust your colleagues.

Social support at work, making it fun, for example, reduces absenteeism. Especially if you have a supervisor who is fun and can have fun, this helps you get through your work life healthier. In addition, you are also less likely to look for another job if you have fun at work and therefore experience your work as "fun."[2]

Even your physical health is influenced by doing what you love. When you do what you love, it has a positive effect on lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease, reducing pain, and improving your immune system’s response[3].

It suddenly becomes a lot less strange that Mick Jagger can and does what Mick Jagger does when you read all this.

What do I like.

So now that you know the importance of doing what you love, it's important to figure out what you love.

When you ask yourself the question, What do I like?

So what are the first thoughts that come to mind?

That's probably what you enjoy doing. Are these things that also allow you to make money so you can do what you love all day long?

For example, if you enjoy working with your hands, you can sell what you make on Etsy. This is a very useful social medium if you don't want a website with a web shop and all the trimmings right away. Ideal to try out something on a hobby basis first.

Is it just something else you enjoy doing, like helping kids with homework or writing? Then you can also do something with that pretty soon to earn something on the side and get rid of work you don't really enjoy doing.

Ultimately, it is best for your own health to have work that you enjoy, or at least doesn't put you in a bad mood.

Sometimes what do I like is also who do I like

Unfortunately, what you sometimes see with people who make their hobby their job is that at some point they no longer enjoy their hobby. This is actually very strange, because how can you suddenly not like drawing, for example?

Sometimes what you like is also who you like.

For example, you may really like your job, but not like the colleagues you work with or clients you have.

Therefore, try to surround yourself with people who are fun, who at least keep your mood neutral or at least cheer you up slightly.

The same goes for your clients if you're going into business doing what you love. You don't want your hobby to be ruined by clients for whom it's never good and who don't take your expertise seriously.

Instead of you getting fired, you fire your client.

May just 😊.

That way, like Mick Jagger, you'll never want to retire.

Things you like

Do you have beliefs that say, for example, “What you enjoy is weird,” or “You can’t make money doing what you enjoy,” or “Everyone thinks what you enjoy is crazy”?

Have these kinds of thoughts surfaced in you? If so, a hypnotist can help you figure out where those thoughts are coming from. What beliefs are blocking you from doing mostly what you enjoy?

Why you shouldn't let yourself do things that are fun. Has having fun become something "bad" in your mind?

A hypnotherapist can do this in a variety of ways, and with some practice you can also hypnotize yourself and figure out beliefs to then change.

Initially, you get a preliminary consultation in which the hypnotist does a sort of preliminary investigation into how you are, what your problems are and what hypnosis technique will best help you.

Next, you are put into hypnosis with an induction. There are multiple inductions and the hypnotist chooses one that suits you to get the deepest hypnosis possible so you can be helped more quickly.

Then the hypnosis technique begins. This may include Socratic conversation, regression or other techniques (which you can learn in our training).

During a regression, for example, you go back to the first moment when you felt you couldn’t do what you love. You had a choice, and something caused you to choose not to do what you loved.

Then, in hypnosis, you will do something with that moment to interpret it in a different way. With this, the hypnotist helps you see the situation in a different way, for example. To understand what people may have said to you in a different way than you did at the time.

Because they are often moments from your childhood, you can easily do this because you can now better understand why an adult or another child said something to you that caused you to think that you are not allowed to do what you like.

This alone can remove that conviction. Then other hypnosis techniques can be used to install new beliefs, so to speak, that will make you do things you like. So that you actually do them when you can.

Want to know how hypnosis works and how you can use it to help others—or yourself—do things you enjoy? Then come to a Hypnosis Playshop in Wormerveer or Zwolle.

Or sign up right away for one of our courses to get started with the techniques. The courses are held in Wormerveer, Zwolle, or online.

[1] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2011.00454.x

[2] https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ccc6/2fe1aabd4985897b348866ae8a7ee0c2cec4.pdf#page=16

[3] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233601603_Is_Humor_Only_Fun_An_Alternative_Cure_or_Magic_The_Cognitive_Therapeutic_Potential_of_Humor