Contemplation Series: Do you like to dabble?
In a Personal Finance course I took in college, one of the main lessons my teacher preached was to have other sources of income besides your main career. Take your interests and turn them into small business ventures he'd say. I'm a girl of many hobbies and when settling on a undergraduate major, I struggled with what my true single calling was. I leaned toward Design school but was not too shabby in my science courses -- I enjoyed learning all about typography but loved to escape to my fiber's projects. Post college, I have friends who have their charted path: law school, med school, graphic designer, the banking world...but I've never seemed to find my single direction.
Yes, I'm in route to graduate school for photography, but that doesn't mean I'm not taking on freelance graphic design projects or honing my sewing skills. I'd love to volunteer more or help my hub with his music -- but how are there enough hours in the day if I'm strapped to one full-time job?
In normal life, one's supposed to go college, receive a degree, pursue a job or advanced degree, maneuver their life through the career they've chosen and retire at the appropriate age, in just enough time to do all the other things they were interested when they were young. Whoa, why the wait? I get the whole financial security side of it (well sort of, look at the world today), but that path seems tiring and uninspiring to me.
I don't want to sound like a floater -- that I can't become serious about anything -- because one thing I don't lack is passion. But I want to share the crazy struggles that perplex in my mind. I understand that to become a doctor it takes extreme sacrifice and time (thank goodness that's not my path!) but I also know there is a reason why the greatest basketball player of all time retired to take up baseball. Am I making sense? Do you feel this way? I'm not proposing answers or recommendations to how anyone should live their life. I just like to dabble, here and there, into my interests. Do you wish you could dabble more? and find a way to do more than one thing in life?
thoughts 
Reader Comments (42)
I'm with you Whitney! That's why I'm trading my two part-time jobs for one 4-day-a-week job, so that Fridays can be my dabble day! I love and am passionate about my job as Lead Designer at Vintage21 Church, but I think those Fridays meant for various freelancing/creative endeavors will be crucial to my marriage and my general capacity to enjoy life. Worth the pay cut I think!
ah, the blessing and curse of the passionate!
as a fellow creative, i feel exactly the way you do on a daily basis! and with two young children, it's no wonder that my attention is seemingly everywhere at once. the thing i'm trying to reconcile myself with is learning to decipher what i really want to do and learning to let go of the things i don't. there was a poster in my elementary classroom that read, "many things will capture your eye and a few that will capture your heart; follow those." i think what sums up all the things that i love to do or would like to at least try to do is that they are things, i think, that help give me a deeper appreciation of life and a greater sense of living boldly.
in my experience, artists crave the journey whereas most 'normal" folks measure their accomplishment by their destination (hence why doctors can slave away at school for over a decade before actually becoming doctors). artists need inspiration much like "normal" folks need security. i don't think that either way is better than the other, and that the best we can do is do what makes us happy.
i am a huge dabbler. i have many passions and i enjoy them all. of course, being a stay at home mom takes up most my time.
I could not agree more
yes! i struggle with this constantly. i want to cook and teach people how to eat better. my passion is food. but i'm stuck behind a computer all day designing. don't get me wrong my job is great and secure at the moment, but i daydream about trying a new recipe.
Yes, yes, and yes. I continue to struggle with what I want to do for the rest of my life. I know I want to be in the design/creative world for forever - there is no way I could ever deny that, but there are so many different things under that umbrella that interest me. Sometimes I feel trapped by what I am doing at the moment, b/c there are those other things out there that I want to try my hand at. I try to use hobbies as my outlet.
Gardening
Clothing design
Product design
Sustainable design
Recycling
Drawing -- I have GOT to start that again!
annnd traveling
I agree with a lot of what ctiare says - well put!! :)
Letting ourselves dabble (as the creative or non creative types) allows us a little freedom and helps link us to other things that we can draw inspiration from.
What I know is that I am passionate about design and making the world a better/happier place through it - whether it be sustainable design or just one thing that makes someone smile.
Whitney - thanks for sharing your thoughts and letting us do the same. :)
Whitney, I am a perpetual dabbler and so grateful for the freedom to pursue my many interests. Right now I'm fiddling with making music (a lifetime hobby that I come back to now and again), working on some graphic design work and thinking of new products for my line, all while fantasizing about the photos I plan to take later. So, I hear you.
When I was younger I used to get discouraged trying to figure out how to combine all my interests in a meaningful way, now I've learned that just pursuing them is meaningful enough. I am fortunate too though to have crafted my own career where I am able to do these things on my own schedule.
Thanks for the post!
you hit the nail on the head... that's me for sure! Now? I'm working at 2 small business retail shops, planning my wedding and other small adventures... and i love it. Maybe Adam and I will have our own business one day??? As you know, I'm an educated Graphic Designer, but I doubt that will be my career path forever... you gotta do what makes you happy! You have always been a brave soul and I have always admired you for stepping out and doing what you do! You are fabulous and will be successful no matter what! Hopefully i will too!
Oh... and I LOVE Irises... did you know that? ;)
We don't know eachother, but if you were writing this last night, you were reading my mind. I am a few years out of undergrad as well and at that point where I need to determine the next step, but I want to "step" towards a career that gives me goosebumps because it makes my heart sing.
The problem: I have a few in mind. How do you make that decision?
Especially when you have lots of little projects your mind floats to (dabbling...) when you are supposed to be re-learning algebra for the GRE.
When you figure out the answer, please share. And good luck--you aren't alone. I don't know a single gal our age that doesn't wrestle with these thoughts while sitting on the bus to her cubicle each morning.
xo
Leigh
I agree with you 100%. In fact, that's pretty much why I chose my current career situation. As a freelance editor, I work almost every day for corporate clients, and I make enough to support myself. But I also blog, knit, sew, and organize things really, really well. So I'm trying to turn these other hobbies into income streams!
Great post. I love your blog. :-)
I read once that Tasha Tudor characterized herself as a "jack of all trades", which struck me deeply then, and has continued to resonate with me! I'm someone who has a seemingly endless stream of ideas, curiosity, and passions in the creative vein. I worked on a degree in graphic design, and do some odd jobs on the side. But my true passion is sewing and fashion history. But I like to do interior design and "junk" as well. All of the above are viable options for businesses in the future, imho. I tend to dabble in things a lot, mostly because I find that I can't confine my creative vision and energy to just one thing. I honestly admire people who have the ability to hone their attention on just a single thing, but I can't without driving myself nuts! lol.
Anyway, great post--and it's lovely to hear that someone else shares the ability to dabble in various things, and is okay with that. :) So often I get frustrated because people expect me to pigeonhole me into one box or category (like college degrees, what I do for a "career", etc.). And where is it written that we have to follow one set path in life if our heart, passion and talents take us elsewhere?
dabbling has been a blessing/curse for me. i lack focus, and it takes focus to become brilliant at something, it takes focus to truly heighten the senses. i have focus when it comes to writing, so i stick with that. otherwise i think dabbling is crucial to joy!
i feel like this all the time... i think that's what comes with being creative. you just want a hand in everything! totally normal. in fact, i think it's a great thing.
and whose to say you'll even make it to retiring age?!? nothings certain so why not try everything you like while you can?
love this post its like you ripped it right out of one of my really deep coffee shop conversations (LOL)
I also struggle with this all the time. My full time job is boring, but pays the bills. But I always think of the creative things I could be doing instead of at work. I'm curious about all things creative, so I feel the same way - where to go, what to do, how to make it all fit in my full time schedule. If you find the answers - please let me know! I also agree with Leigh - how do you make the decision to move on if you have so many interests? A constant struggle!
I had this exact same conversation this weekend with a friend of mine. It seems like so many of my friends have graduated and are on the road to their careers and here I am with all these dreams and passions and ideas that don't necessarily fit into a 9 to 5 job. There's not enough time in the day to do the more creative things that I want to do.
It's a tiny bit reassuring to know I'm not the only one out there wanting to dabble in a little bit of everything and not really sure I know what I'm doing right now. I think this dabble obsession also explains why as a child the thing I wanted to do when I grew up changed every week (you know, fashion designer one week and FBI agent the next).
i 150% agree wtih you. truly, i could have written this very same blog post. in fact, i kind of did over at the lil bee recently - http://tiny.cc/LxQWM
basically, i fell into a job in PR and worked at an agency in nyc for a year after college. i. hated. it. i was commuting a zillion hours a day and couldn't stand being trapped in an office in front of a computer for 9 hrs. i was going crazy. so i quit. took a trip to spain. did an internship over the summer. and am now doing some freelance work and job hunting again.
even though i'm looking for full time positions for all of the practical reasons and steady nature (especially in this economy) i know i'll probably end up disliking them at some point too. i have too many interests to be tied down to just one job for 40+ hrs a week. right now i'm trying to figure out if i can do a bunch of part time/freelance projects rather than full time. yikes.
good luck in your search!
Everything you said sounds like it came straight out of my head! I just wish I had more time to work on all of my side talents - to do them for some extra money and to become better at them!
Ah! I have been struggling with this lately. Out of high school I went straight to college to become a teacher. A year into it I decided Photography Communications was for me. But once I graduated I had no idea. I currently work as a graphic designer but for a small company where nothing really ever gets done.
I am looking for a new job and trying to decide on what to do is so difficult! In a perfect world I would design invitations and edit photos all day. I do those things on the side right now, but I have bills to pay and a 9-5 is necessary. I also have to keep in mind having children in a few years and wanting to stay home with them at least part time but also being able to afford private school...
Sometimes I wish i wanted to be a doctor or lawyer, something focused. I love being creative and having all of these outlets but I agree that i feel like this drifter, like I have so many things i want to focus on that I can't focus on any of them 100%.
I completely agree and struggle with the same thing! I am a graphic designer, which satisfies my creative side, but I also am interested in human interaction and helping people, particularly with wellness. I haven't found a career that satisfies both of these desires. I definitely would rather dabble than have a full-time career, but for now, with all my wedding planning, I am better off working from home a day a week. Then it feels like I'm not Always in the office, it's funny. Have fun with your dabbling! Hey, you only live once! Maybe something along the way will feel just right and you will stick with it, or not!
This is my final year of undergrad, and it's taken me six years to get here. I started out with one major and one goal, then changed to something completely different. And, now? I'm considered getting a masters in a totally unrelated field. So, I definitely understand. For me, everything I've done has been in order to get a job (albeit sparse and poor-paying ones!), while I chase my lifelong dream of writing.
I take slight offense with your description of "normal life!" I know lots of people (myself included) that haven't taken the normal four years of college then job or grad school route. I moved to nyc to be a dancer (ballet) but after getting injured have been working full-time at a law firm and going to school part-time for History. Then I decided I really really want to be a vet. so now I'm working through my vet-school pre-requisites and hoping I'll be done vet school by the time I'm 30 :)
Its all a journey though! I think the more you dabble and struggle the more life experiences you have and lessons you learn. Sure its taken me a while to figure it out but I don't regret a bit of the process. I wish I had more time to knit, sew, make music with the bf, or bake but I also can't see myself having a career in any of those things. Especially a career where I'll be able to have health insurance and pay my rent (which however boring as it may sound is kind of important to me) So I'll dabble in them when I can (in between semesters!) and enjoy it for what it is :)
So that didn't really answer your question at all. But thanks for letting my blather on.
Oh my god, I was so excited to read your post. I completely agree. I really do wish I could dabble more, I think about it a lot. I really hate that life has the structure that everyone expects everyone else to follow . . . I just want to do everything I love to do!
I am, without a doubt, a dabbler. I am currently working as a photographer, hopefully bound for grad school for graphic design. I could also easily have a career as a math teacher or really anything involving art or a soccer coach. I have tons of interests and sometimes fear that I'll miss focusing on the one that might be my main calling because I don't have enough time to focus on them all!
Great post!
Hahaha... in fact, I just took this quiz (http://youniverse.com/statement/module/ArtModule/Creative_youniverse/) and it termed me a Happy Dabbler!