How To Make Money Doing What You Love: The Great Resignation

Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been something going on that is being called “The Great Resignation”. What is The Great Resignation? If you’ve never heard of this, it is defined as:

“The higher-than-normal quit rate of American workers that began in the spring of 2021 and continued into the fall as vaccination eased the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the unemployment rate decreased, and job openings increased.”
–Investopedia

To make it even more plain and simple, it has become a movement where people aren’t coming back to their jobs for various reasons. I believe that when workers were able to get a taste of what it’s like to work at home and receive, what may have been a little bit more liveable amount of money, that opened the eyes of many.

We are often told to settle or basically put “chasing the bag” over our mental health but as someone who is all for putting your mental health first, I am here for this new wave. I’m hoping this not only forces jobs to pay better, but also provides the push needed to leave for something better or to go after that “not so typical” job. I know it helped me to take the stand and not go back to my old job.

Now that people are leaving jobs that no longer serve them, there are probably some who are still trying to figure out what’s the next step. Here are just a few tips for figuring out how to now start making money doing what you love!

1. Figure out what it is that you love to do.

The first step is to figure out what it is that you like to do. This may seem obvious, but if you really sit and think about it, sometimes you’re left wondering what that thing is that makes you so happy. It’s crazy to say, but sometimes the hardest question in life turns out to be “What am I interested in?” Even more so, what it is that you could turn into a career and do for the rest of your life if you could. I know this post is about making money doing what you love, but also keep in mind that you need to find something you wouldn’t mind doing even if it was free. Thinking of only things you want to do because you know they bring you a ton of money isn’t going to work out in the long run. If you’re only motivated by money or the only thing you love is money and it doesn’t matter what it is that you’re doing, then this one probably isn’t for you.

2. Think about what’s needed to start.

Now that you’ve thought about what it is you love (or even things that you love), it’s time to figure out what you have to do to start. This one requires the “not-so-fun” side of things aka a lot of research! You have to figure out what it’s going to take to get there. Not only does it take research, but this is also the part where you have to make some hard decisions. Some of those decisions may be going back to school or taking on a temporary job to save the money that you need for your forever career. Sometimes the only thing needed to start at the moment is a little time before actually starting.

3. Start putting in the work.

You’ve searched what is it you need, and now it’s time to put in the work! Putting in the work means simply taking the time and starting. This is even harder for some than it is trying to figure out what you love. Big decisions like these aren’t the easiest to make. Whether you’re doing something that involves going to college or not, whatever it is you love will take investing and that can be a scary thought. It’s also scary to think about putting in all of that work and not succeeding or realizing that this isn’t something you love after the fact. One thing to keep in mind is how you felt when you were at home or still being underpaid while working during a pandemic if you were an essential worker. It’s important to keep that in mind as well as why you love the thing you’re going for in the first place because hardships will have you questioning your entire path. There are going to be hard times whether you’re doing something that you love or not, but loving it gives you a reason to not give up.

4. Make those final moves.

Lastly, make those final moves and leave what you hate doing to fully pursue what you love doing. Obviously, it isn’t that easy. There are a lot of steps in between and hard work but it would potentially take forever to get through it all and some points depend on what each individual is going after. Always keep in mind that there will be a lot of ups, downs, and everything else in between. As I mentioned previously, there are going to be hard times regardless, but you have to keep moving because it will land you into the spot where you’re making your final moves. That could mean graduating college and putting in applications, putting in your two weeks, or making those big purchases that you felt weren’t necessary just yet. Regardless of what it is, making those final big moves is what’s going to eventually land you where you want to be…making money doing what you love.

The Great Resignation could be the beginning of us as a people finally getting out of the mindset that you have to compromise your sanity for the rest of your life in order to pay your bills. As important as it is to have money in order to live, it’s also important to have something to live for every single day. It’s time for us all to start taking steps to doing what we love!

How do you feel about The Great Resignation? Let me know in the comments!