I think it's good to have a job that explores different parts of ourselves.
The role one plays in society and who we are in our inner world can be quite distinct, and perhaps, ideally so.
It is tempting to choose a role or job that aligns closely with our sense of 'self', but I'm not sure this is the best strategy.
I believe the psychologist Carl Jung, agreed.
The writer Kafka was a bank teller. Bukowski was a post office worker. And, I'm sure there are countless other workers come artists.
In fact, why not bring up Hemingway. Sure, he was a journalist.
But, in one of his most-read stories, the protagonist, states how he dissipated his writing energy when he married into wealth.
The problem was this: the process of writing became overly associated with money-making, and when he no longer needed to write for financial reasons, the desire to write vanished.
So either one voluntarily enters into a tight spot and is forced to write for money. Or one works in a different area, so the lines between passion and work do not blur.
On this point, we can also mention Dostoyevsky, who was a professional soldier, and who only much later in life, forced himself into a corner, dooming himself to write forever.
And even for, Dostoyevsky, one of the greatest writers of recent (all) times - the road was excruciatingly troubled; the number of letters he wrote about money was innumerable.
Some late-night thoughts. Best taken with a hefty pinch of salt.
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