On careers, passions, and hobbies

I went to work this afternoon. As my mentor opened the door for me at school this Saturday afternoon, I mentioned to her,

"You know, you work harder than anyone I know."

To this she replied with a smile,

"I was thinking about the hours I put in and yes, I do work hard. But that's because teaching is not only my career, but it's also my passion AND my hobby!"

Honestly, how cool is that? To have a job that you are so passionate about and enjoy so much that you think of it as your hobby is wealth beyond any person's dreams. And, I have to say, she is one of the best teachers that I have ever been around. I hope one day to have my lessons as well thought out and creative as she does.

I also am very passionate about what I do for my career. To be honest, I never really thought of it as my hobby, but it probably is if you look at how much I enjoy it and the work I put in to make myself better. However, since it was a Saturday, I left work after 2 hours to compete in another of my time consuming hobbies - rock climbing (that's me in the photo, taken about 2 years ago).

I've been climbing off and on for about 4 years, but have taken enough breaks that I call myself a 'poser climber.' This means that (along with my somewhat-frequent long hiatuses) I know enough to get by and enough terminology to SOUND like I'm a real climber, but I don't spend a large proportion of my money and vacations on climbing gear and climbing trips. Those that have 'drank the kool-aid' live to climb, and to me it is just a hobby. However, today was the first time I entered into a climbing competition. I fully expected to finish in the bottom 10% but, lo and behold, I did halfway decent for my level (intermediate). I mentioned to my buddy that I felt like I didn't climb my best, and he said,

"Fool, that's because you are always on, then off, then on again. If you climbed regularly for a long period of time, you better believe you'd be competing at a higher level!"

Moral of the story: To be as good as you want at something, it needs to be important to you and you have to be willing to work at it every day. Whether its your career, your relationships, something you've always wanted to do or change about yourself, or as simple as a hobby, this rule applies.
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Next year, I hope to be competing in the advanced category - in BOTH hobbies that I am devoted to.