I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this phrase: “Love what you love.”

I’ve been thinking about how it’s something I’ve really learned as a result of putting myself out there, both in writing this blog, and in following my dream to be a graphic designer. Both of these acts are me loving what I love, unabashedly, and with purpose, and I’ll tell you, really good things have come of it.

(And by “I’ve learned this,” what I really mean is that like all of you, like all of us humans, I come to realize the truth of it, and then put it into practice in my daily life, and then sort of forget it, and then realize it again. Sometimes that cycle takes a month. Sometimes just a day.)

So yeah, good things come of it, of publicly following our loves, whether that be a passion for cribbage, for snowmobiling, for drawing, for web development, or whatever, but I think quite often, we talk ourselves away from loving what we love, especially if it’s not what we think we’re “supposed” to love.

(And just as a disclaimer here, I’m not talking about loving things like hurting other people, or being addicted to harmful behaviours.)

We do this because “loving what you love” means being vulnerable. It means admitting to yourself what you really want out of life, and then not settling for less, not settling for just doing the stuff that doesn’t fill you with joy. It’s hard to not-settle. It’s scary stuff to bet on your own passion and trust that it will carry you through the tough times, the doubting times.

But at the same time, it also feels freaking amazing to “love what you love,” and to let that beautiful stuff be in your daily life.

Here is why I think that you, and I, and your cousin Joe, and your aunt Francine, should all love what we love:

1. Because love is good. It’s good stuff! It feels good, it makes us happy, it’s what we’re made of and made for.

2. Because whatever it is you’re passionate about, is who you are and there’s no point in denying it. Even though Adam thinks I’m a huge nerd, I still take great joy (and demonstrate that I do) in reading parts of the dictionary when I eat breakfast. It thrills me to learn about word origins.

3. Because it’s the spice that makes work go by easier. I don’t happen to think it’s true that “if you love what you do, you’ll never have to work.” I think that’s BS. Work is still work — if it wasn’t, we’d all somehow make a living from lying on the beach. But, work does goes by faster and it’s more fun, if you love what you do.

4. Because when you show that you love it, other people who love it too will see your passion for it, like a light shining, and will gravitate toward it. This is the magic part. This is how you find other people who love the same things as you. This is how people know to ask me about things like custom designs of poems for their families, or logos for their farms, because I’ve said publicly that I love design, families, nature, food. And then I get to do fun work!

What do you LOVE? Tell me! Get it out in the open. Love it!