How can I balance livelihood, interests, and values when choosing work?

Look for a direction you genuinely enjoy and are willing to commit to, while thinking clearly about income and daily living. Work supports life, and interests also require actual learning and doing. Someone else's statement cannot replace understanding yourself, much less live your life for you.

Turning an interest into work is a joy. I liked divination, which later became my work. Dao Shun enjoyed games from childhood, learned Japanese to play them, and later entered the gaming industry. Enjoyment makes us more willing to invest attention and effort.

YOYO shared liking English as a child, exchanging cleaning work for lessons, and meeting a teacher willing to answer patiently. Later, interest in Japanese idols led to self-study of the Japanese syllabary and joining a Japanese-language club. A planned Japanese major in northern Taiwan changed because of the father's concerns, leading to remaining in Taichung but still minoring in Japanese. Although a working holiday in Japan did not happen, later work brought frequent business trips there. Looking back, YOYO felt the Bodhisattva had fulfilled the wish another way. Interests, opportunities, and willingness to learn connected like this.

Choosing a direction also requires considering existing experience. Dao Jing shared that a friend was earning income in food service and appreciated by a supervisor, but became anxious after a teacher encountered while buying crystals declared that food service must never be pursued in this life. An absolute statement does not mean overturning what is going well before you. If you have long been unhappy and facing difficulty, reminders can be heard too. More knowledge and wisdom support discernment beyond whoever speaks most forcefully. You are still the one who bears the choice.

When I worked in insurance early on, differences in company systems made me unhappy. A supervisor suggested that if the environment could not be changed, I could consider creating one suited to me. Looking back, perhaps the intention was adjustment within the job. At the time, however, I chose to leave for planning work I enjoyed, then business ownership and spiritual practice. This was my own choice and journey. Change also requires courage.

When an industry is hit, consider new skills you can learn. During the pandemic, we encouraged considering work such as programming or graphic design that could be done remotely, first developing a skill and seeking a direction that could continue. That was advice for the conditions then. Difficulties still leave room to seek solutions rather than deciding at once that you have no future.

Choosing a field of study similarly requires understanding your interests. I studied chemical engineering partly by following the era's expectation that boys enter engineering. Later I saw more clearly my interest in literature and communications, and devoted considerable attention to speech, debate, theater, and literature clubs. Helping children find direction should involve understanding their own interests and qualities, rather than following only the path others assume is right.

Miao Nian's career changes showed that liking something and finding it suitable as work require actual exploration. She moved from nursing into other work and obtained financial certifications. Nursing was not wasted; it later opened new opportunities. Learning about hours and duties in areas such as clothing and makeup revealed that an interest might not offer the life she wanted.

Before finding a new direction, you can maintain your current work while exploring. Miao Qing did not remain in design without interruption: several years in food service came before a return to design. People find direction at different times, so do not use others' ages to pressure yourself. I studied digital music seriously when young but still was not good at it. Later I considered writing lyrics and asking a professional to compose music if I wanted to make songs. Not everything needs to be forced into an entirely solo effort.

If direction remains unclear, write down what you can do, enjoy, and have done, and ask friends who know you for their views. Explore and study fields that interest you, giving yourself another skill. Divination can be part of discussion, but cannot mean handing over the whole question and no longer needing to understand yourself.

If no direction emerges immediately, you can first do work that maintains income and continue exploring outside it. This does not mean resigning yourself forever to disliked work. Convenience stores, petrol stations, and noodle stalls each involve hardship and skills, and suitability still matters. A noodle stall I know begins work at three in the morning, a schedule I could not manage. Do not see only someone else's income without how it is earned.

I used to say you could try different things before thirty. Later, meeting clients still seeking direction in their fifties changed that view. As long as we are alive, we can keep seeking and learning. People find direction at different times. Reaching a particular age does not mean you can never change again.