The Dangers Of Being Dutiful 

I graduated with a BA in Math(with a minor in Computer Science) a year ago and didn't know what I wanted to do. I used to think that entering the corporate/programming world was the only way to live. Getting amazing pay was the #1priority in my head. I was buying into society's version of success. After tutoring part time for awhile I realized that I wanted to be a math teacher. I realized that all I want is to live a modest life. Seeing how things never impressed me I never fully understood people's obsession with fame, nice cars, mansions, etc. Whenever I got something like a new gaming system I would be excited about it for only a few weeks. As long as I eat healthy, have a roof over my head, have clothing, and a few great friends, I'm happy. I think people should think more about living modestly every now and then. Being very dutiful to get more things only seems to make things worse.

"Pleasure isn't the opposite of work"... a whole education system that values grades based on dutiful exams seems to disagree with you.

Whenever I try to think of whatever I personally would want to do I feel like I might just want to do nothing at all

The message of "do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life" Is a nice one, but it's the sort of thing only wealthy people say. Most of us have to get jobs to pay bills and eat. We don't have the option to take a job, or a career that may not pay, or won't pay well if it does pay at all. We can't take a year off to get on our feet, or in go afford school to learn how to do what we love, because we can't afford it. It is a nice thought, though.

Man, I wish someone was there to tell me this ten years back. I guess the second best time to start is NOW!!!

None of this changes the fact that as long as we need that sweet cash money, we will always be forced to do things we don't like. Even in jobs we do like. And if we're not even lucky enough to get a job we like, we still gotta do it. A dont get me started on poor people, they have it even worse.

I am kind of divided about this issue. Dutifullness is extremely useful. The ability to endure through uncomfortable efforts in order to reach goals is what made (and makes) our species survive. Nonetheless, it is a terrible misguided thought to believe dutifullness is a moral compass, and to elevate that idea to a way of life. One must try to be authentic, to be true to oneself, and then they can bring all their potential and be happy with what they do.

I will fulfil my dream of being the greatest doodler of colourful primary shapes.

Its all about finding a balance between work and pleasure, because sadly, its true that in the "adult world" we can't survive without jobs (and it can be extremely difficult finding a job you're passionate about!)

Really its a matter of how can you align the serving of others with something you enjoy doing. Nothing more

Truth is that most of the famous philosophers, writers, poets, painters and musicians we recognise today belonged to the leisure class. People who grew up in affluent families which gave them the time and money to pursue their hobbies and become masters. Most of us aren't so lucky, we have to play the capitalist game of earning a living.

Oh by the way guys, this is totally a First World Problem. Most people in developing countries don't have much choice in what they can pursue, because some occupations are valued, while some others are so regarded as garbage that they would earn people an imaginably low quality of living. They simply can't afford the luxury of having a sense of individuality.

The thing is it's hard to find that balance between earning good money and finding your passion, not saying it's impossible though.

Well, no need to tel Ned Stark about the dangers of duty.

What if there's no economic reward in your passion? Unless one is willing to take the risk of becoming homeless of course, the current system is not designed to accommodate activities that have no economic demand. For example, I love gardening but I can't possibly compete with industrial farming and if I had to survive on it I'd have to think about the business side, which would take away all the fun. Theories are fun but reality isn't as simple as a 5 min video.

As Mulan once said, you've got duties to your heart

Could you please do a video about introversion? I love your channel! :)

Awww the graphics in this one are darling!!! I love the little heart. She's so cute

It's called personal responsibility. You can be a spoiled brat that feels entitled to everything, or a humble responsible person that is thankful and proud of their hard work wether it was extremely successful or not (that's called character) and that's not a hobby or something your born with... It is furnished in the hardships of life.

What do you do when your passion Becomes a duty?

Thank you for uploading this video. There are many people who feel as though subservience is part of their duty, which causes an absence of ideas that are their own. We aren't robots; neither should we act as if we're programmed as one.

In my humble opinion, the best you can do is to create a bussiness of whatever you want, to sustain you economically, but actually spend your time and effort in what you love. There's the balance.

This comment section gives me anxiety.

I'm currently 12 and I'm glad I saw this I want to show this to my mom who hates her job I love art but for months I put it aside I'm glad I have the time to save myself from this.Not doing what you love is a worse death than anything ever imaginable

I hope this list helps someone: 1. The founder of this channel Alain de Botton gave the best career advice I' ve ever heard. It was on an event called " Fulfillment at work" , which you can find on youtube. He said: "Dare to dream. Set yourself a vision of how you would like the world to be and work backwards from it. Have the courage not just to dream a little bit, but to dream and then rationalise and analyse your dream. It is a mixture of imagination and reason." Let's be honest. None of us would ever dream of a career which is NOT fun! We all want to live an enjoyable and fulfilled life. The great thing about this advice is that it doesn't simply say: " Follow your dreams". But it encourages you to think deeply about it. " Analyse your dreams" may sound less glamorous. But indeed it is much more wise and encouraging! I recommend all friends who doesn't know which career to choose, to read Alain's wonderful book: " The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work" too. 2. My most beloved movie of all times is " A Bronx Tale" , by Robert de Niro. It is much more than a gangster movie! You will learn a lot about life from it! The best line from that movie is: "The saddest thing in life is wasted talent". 3. Talking about talent, if you want to be sure about what it feels like being in your element, you can read the wonderful book " Flow , The Psychology of Happiness" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. 4. Ken Robinson's TED Talk " Do schools kill creativity" and his wonderful speech at The School of life, called " On passion", are very helpful too. They very much resonate with the idea presented in this beautiful lesson. 5. Malcolm Gladwell wrote the book " Outliers" about success, which became a New York Times bestseller. On an interview Larry King asked him what all these people who were extremely successful had in common. Gladwell said: "All successful people love what they do." 6. In his book " Creatures of a day" , psychiatrist Irvin Yalom, recommends to a patient who is not happy with his profession, the book " Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius. He says Aurelius, being the Roman Emperor, was not happy with his job either! Because he wanted to become a philosopher indeed... I think because it was his real passion, we honour Marcus Aurelius today more as a philosopher than as a ruler! 7. If you want to try the very helpful " Death bed perspective" recommended in this lesson, there is one book and one movie that can get you right there: The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoi Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa 8. If you have a job you hate, Maria Popova's story can be encouraging for you. She is the founder of the wonderful website Brainpickings. She used to have a steady , well paid job , but this is what she says about her decision to leave it: “Do I want to bury myself in a corporate job that I’m going to spent 80% of my waking hours at, be miserable, and hope that the money it gives me will make the other 20% of my life better, even though I’m angry and tired and burned out? Or, do I want to do something that makes me happy to wake up to and happy to go to sleep having done and let the financial part figure itself out?" She is reading and writing all day and bringing wisdom into people's lives through her website and turns out that it became a huge success and she makes her living out of it! 9. Psychiatrist Irvin Yalom says in one of his books that even though he is 80 years old he can't imagine to be retired. He says he would even " pay" in order to keep working! Isn't that wonderful?? I also remembered an interview I have read with a famous Italian shoemaker. ( I forgot his name unfortunately). After making shoes for about 50 years with so much love and passion, for all kinds of people, he decided to retire. So the interviewer asked him : " Well, now that you will have a lot of time, what do you want to do with it?". He thought for a while and said: " Oh, himmmm, I guess I will make shoes." :-) We should aspire to be like these people!

Id love to see a video about how to handle regrets and anxiety, basically just wishing for a time machine and living in the past would be a very interesting topic! love your videos! They help me so much in my life.

life thus far hasn't been worth the struggle; i think about cutting my lossses all the time, but i'm curious about the future, so i stick around. that's it.

Correct but we need the safety of a basic income in order to truly search for our own authentic way in enhancing society. Without a citizen basic income, everything in this video is only directed to the financially secured already.

What if the stuff that brings you pleasure and is the most fun for you has no use to anyone? Being an artist is great because you get to make things and improve the world around you and make other people happy, but laying around and consuming media because it's fun doesn't exactly put bread on the table :(

Hey school of life, I love the video. I feel it resonates strongly with me, however, Im not sure how to find a thing I want to do. Im sure others feel as I do, can I suggest you make a video on the topic?

I struggle with not being motivated by money. I only seek money because it's the life blood of our society. However, what has always motivated me strongly is when people listen to my input. I am creative and imaginative. I like coming up with solutions for problems, but I also simply like the fact that I feel like I matter.

this has got to be the biggest load of baloney I have heard in a long time, why can't an individual be the best janitor in the world, but be passionate about flamenco guitar? I could go on but this is the type of thing that will keep people from finding truly meaningful work that will enable them to have the resources to truly explore their passions. what happens if my passion is knitting but I am a terrible knitter? and there is no way to make a living as a knitter? should I pursue it as a career ? This is why we have a work place filled with people who think it is the employers job to fulfill their dreams

While this message is good, simple truth is that it's not a guarantee that you can make a livelihood just by following your passion. You have to pay bills, rent, food, miscellaneous supplies etc., how are you going to keep paying for those if your income from your passion is insignificant?

SO much fear in these comments from dutiful people.

I am always amazed about the black and white thinking that surrounds these topics. It's like: you should do something you like or you will not be happy and/or function not fully to your capacities. Like the work you do is the only thing that matters... Often the enviroment in which you work is more important then the work itself. For instance nice collegues or internal company values. You can learn to look at things as something interesting and new and that way even see something fun in things you did not think were fun. ('making' intrinsic motivation) This is a way more constructive thing to do, because you will always encounter things you don't like. Even in your 'dream job'. Furthermore I think it's not good to always want more and more in material ways, but it's not a good idea either to only want to have more and more fun and a better and better job. That won't make you happy in the end either. The whole 'wanting more' is the big reason people are often not happy with what they have... You can have a fun job and want a more fun job. Then you get the more fun job, but no you want the even more fun job! And there the cycle of not being satisfied is there again. And don't even get me started on the fact people often think they want something and then they have it and don't really like it. Or people have what they like and after a while it get's boring anyway >.

I realize that your videos are equally effective to all types of ages, but this one for me raised more questions that it answered. People always told me "do what you love for a living and you won't have to work a day." I tried doing that but the world or industry in my line of work made me hate it. Now i have nothing much to love. What's worse is that I am definitely not happy. It's like all my life I've told myself that I need to find happiness. Well what if the responsibility of finding happiness is not something I am willing to take. Wouldn't it be easier if I sell my soul to something I love and work with no rewards in mind? Why haven't I done that though? Why am I not passionate about anything the way I used to be when I was younger? Should I even rely on my mind to tell me what makes me happy? Because maybe I have everything that I deserve but I'm not happy because my stupid brain doesn't produce enough dopamine... i'm just fucking depressed.

i don't think people understand that these videos bring out the unspoken nature of humans. if you find this disturbing then its a sign that there is something wrong with the systems and institutions in place.

Everyday my parents tell me why be in Culinary Arts. Be a pharmacist. Do this. Do that. Well I just don't know what to do anymore. Being a chef is what brings me joy not generating medicine and giving out pills. Seeing the smile on people's faces after I present my dish and they taste it is what gives me joy. I come from an Asian household so everyone expects Lawyers and Doctors. They pressure me and I don't want to disappoint them but I don't to obey all the rules either. Soon I have to make a decision about what college to go to and what major I will choose. Senior year isn't as easy as I thought it would be. Seems like stress will be my best friend this year.

Nobody has a passion for plumbing.

As someone that's recently decided they wanted to be an illustrator/designer and is constantly wondering if that was the right choice, I really needed this. I know there will be nothing easy about the path I am taking and I am aware that I'm far from the best at what I do at this point in time. Regardless, I will work every bone in my body to make this work because I know at the end of the day, If I can actually, truly make it, I'll be far happier doing this than I would have been with any other "safer" job. Besides, if I never try, I'll never know.

Be realistic about your passion. Planning helps. Having extremely high expectations never helps. It only saddens you further after failure.

Go back to reviewing books/philosophers please. Mr. Botton, as much as I love you, not everyone will subscribe to your personal philosophy (that includes me)

OMG this is so true. I have always loved the arts. Why am i majoring in COMputer Science?!?!?!?!?

Makes me sick... The fact that we are introduced to things we don't want to do like school.. When we could be doing other things with our lives.. Things we want to do. To me school is like cutting off my hand. I don't want to do it.

I am a law student. I can say with conviction that I am not "in love" with the law; rather, it is the career path I am the least uncertain of. Here, suffering, overwork, depression and breakdowns are as common as breakfast. Whenever I ask for career advice, I am told that I should pursue what I love to do. However, I find that I do not love anything enough to make a career out of (law included). The bigger question I have though, is whether love over a career can be created, or at the least, fabricated. That way, I can at least suffer a little less in memorizing the next case law I have to recite.

I've been so focused on duty, I think I've forgotten what my passion is!

MAKE A VIDEO ON DEALING WITH DORKS IN EVERYDAY LIFE

I also followed my passions and my dreams in art. It led me to becoming so poor, I was unable to survive. I moved back in with my parents so I could save money to go back to school for something that wasn't necessarily my passion, but something I was good at that could make a lot of money. My new life may have a lot of duties that don't revolve around constant pleasure, but having a few annoying tasks is preferable to being dead. I still do art on the side with the added bonus of having no fear of starving to death. Watching videos like this when I was young was incredibly dangerous and nearly ruined my life. Even now, I'm about a decade behind in my life than most of my peers due to spending so much time believing the lie that if you work hard going after your passions and you believe, somehow life will magically give you what you want. Never give up on your passions, but please be smart about your life.

Be sure to remember though, people will only give you money if you provide them with something they want that is of value. No one will pay you anything otherwise. So try aline your passion with a way to make a living, if not, then having it as a hobby is always ok. What do I care though, do whatever the F*** you wanna do! Just don't be a parasite on others..

Literally burst in tears, Thank you Alain.

Sigh...damned if you do and damned if you don't is all there is to it. These inept suggestive videos are entertaining can can be thought provoking. But damned if it works and damned if it doesn't. There are just too many factors in life to cut out just a theme and call it the right one. Why do you do it if you are supposed to be so wise, School of Life? Though I would love to be able to help apply the theme of this video for my kids, the fact is that I myself grew up in a broken home, moved all around the world with no guidance on duty and planning from anyone. So all I did was following my passions and emotions. So let me tell you that there are not all rainbow and butterflies to it. Fuck if life is so simple as shifting the balance from one base to another and everything is bliss. Duty is just as important as anything else. Passion, heart and whatever is no more important than anything else either.

This was truly helpful as I have been teetering on the idea to make a career change lately. I have a PhD in Biomedical Sciences and have a 'successful" career as a Health Scientist, but have realized that I am unfulfilled and my heart is not in it anymore. Thank you School of Life for prompting me to further explore these thoughts of career change based on my heart's passions.

Same here: I stuck with my passion (it was inevitable anyway). Even though I have no problem saying that I am good at it - it eventually lead to being in constant financial trouble. Especially creative professions are not truly supported by Western society. "Follow your dreams" is (IMHO) very bad advice. How I wish it was good advice. It isn't. People without true passion for the arts (not money or success - just because it's in the DNA) have it so much easier. Go study and get a good day job, kids! Trust me! P.S. anyone wanting to reply: "Make your own channel": I have two of them. :-)

Someone's been reading the communist manifesto

That little heart character is TOO cute. Now I want a little smiling helper friend of my own.

As someone who “followed her passion” and became and illustrator because of my love of art making I can say doing art as work can so easily suck the passion out of it. It loses the freedom and creativity when done for other people to a deadline. I’ve found a middle ground teaching art and working in a school environment. Money comes in regularly (unlike free lance illustrating) but I’m still involved with my passion and it gives me “head space” to create art I want to create and enjoy the process of doing so without the pressure of making money from it. There’s a middle ground. And definitely something to be said for a job that isn’t so mentally taxing that you can come home and pursue what really interests you. I have a lot of artist friends who go down that road. :)

Yes just make sure you aren't passionate about anything that doesn't pay well ;)

This is me. I can't live without passion and I have felt that all my life and it has caused friction with family over the years, but I knew I was not like others. I can't do exactly what society says is the way to do things or discovery. It wasn't until I left my job and chased my passion did I feel alive again and yes I make a living, but most of all I feel fulfilled as I make that living. I have a friend who worked as a CEO for a contracting company, but he went into garbage disposal and is the happiest he's been since I met him. The roles will be filled society needs to function, but it should be done by those who will enjoy it. The point is find what makes you happy and never be ashamed of it. If you happy enjoy working to clean & maintaine parks than be proud of it. Don't let anyone make you think you need something else if where you work you truly love. I currently farm and created a community garden, but I have other things in the works too. I need freedom to learn & new experience, but gardening grounds me so I don't float away. Lol.

My mom recently told me that she didn't want to see me as a teacher, and that I should be an engineer or a lawyer instead. I know it's too early to decide what I want for life, but I really feel this immense passion for teaching and helping children... My grandmother expressed the same concerns as well, saying that the pay isn't good, and that money is important. They said they wouldn't stop me, but it stuck in my mind. It made me fall into a pit of depression for the past few weeks... this video really helped me. Money matters, but my happiness and passion matters too. Thank you so much for reassuring me, and many people, that it's okay to be a bit selfish and pick the life we want. It is our life after all.

So true. Well put!

These videos convince me to go out and end it all, but I still love them pointing out philosophical insights even in common day things & norms formed over the course of humanity!

I dont completely disagree... but this just isnt realistic anymore. There is no wiggle room for escaping duty when you live in poverty. For me the pressures are so heavy, I forgot how to enjoy myself if im not being actively dutiful. Even if im aware I have a hard time escaping the anxiety.

exactly. where ever you are in this life it's never too late to change Now ! so long as you are alive ! the only way to live forever x

What the school of life forgot to mention is that the reason why the duty and follow your passions dichotomy exists is because most jobs out there don't require much imagination - they are mostly bullshit tedious, repetitive, and mind numbing jobs. The creative activities which require problem solving and applying skills and knowledge into creating new concepts are only held by a small number of hands- the rest are scripted and highly structured around the desires of those who hold the creative jobs - which only means that they are auxiliary to the creatives. The education system is a job preparation system not a follow your passion system for exactly that reason- just adapt to your bullshit job and get your kicks outside from your job.

lol i hope eddy doesn't see this, so he can lose faith in his scams lol

Dear Alain, I love your videos, they are generally thought provoking and great for initiating debates and discussions in the classroom. However, this has caused universal derision among my students, and all of them really want me to comment on how totally out of touch this sounds. Sorry. But this is truly awful. What about extreme social and economic inequality? Have you heard about the burden of debt? Are you aware that it is practically impossible to live debt free? I'm incredibly frugal with my cash, I work hard and I find it nearly impossible to pay rent (let alone own a house) and - get this - I am one of the really, really lucky ones! As a teacher, I HAVE A JOB I REALLY LOVE *GASP*! I am also intelligent enough to realize that I am the exception, NOT the rule. I look at my siblings and school friends and they are genuinely suffering. What about a unilateral two tier justice system that privileges the wealthy? How about mass incarcerations and the criminalization of huge numbers of the populace? What about the militarization of our police forces and the state sanctioned violence against the citizenry? Most people, in western cultures, as well as throughout the 'neo-liberal' world that I have encountered in my journey, have these options in life: 1 - A low paid job in the service industries. 2 - A career in the military breaking into houses, often in the middle-east, and shooting people in front of their families, only to return to a community that has been gutted by faceless corporate greed. 3 - Prison. That's it. Yes, I am relying on brevity to make my point, but given the nature of this forum, I am sure you will agree, it is warranted. I really love the power of ideas that you so carefully profess, but you have to realize that a vast majority of the people on this planet simply DO NOT have the choices you have had in life, the game is rigged against them and they know it. Maybe you might want to climb down from the celebrity book tour circuit every now and then and have a look at just how shitty this world can be when you don't have a family name and a bank account to back it up. Most people don't get chance after chance after chance, they don't even get one chance. Wake. Up.

I like it, just don't agree about the competition part. COLLABORATION!!!!!! It's ALWAYS about COLLABORATION. Competition always ends up destructive

This really got to me! I'm 21 and consider to apply to med school. I have an interest(not sure of passion but it was my favorit subject) in biology and what i've found in earlier jobs is that the things that keeps me going is the satisfaction of helping others. I also contemplate to go for a music career. Making music is probably what I think I'm best at and also what I enjoy the most. The thing is that i'm not sure if it's something I'd like to work with for the rest of my life and I would't like that passion to tarnish by turning it in to a "must do". I mean I can always have it as a sideproject at my spare time? Any ideas of how to think?

This, and the video about Romanism is the most heartwarming video you've ever produced, in my opinion!

It's so weird how a lot of your videos seem to be uploaded when they are needed. Like rn for me I just got out of highschool n dam I've been feeling the duty vs passion thing for awhile now. Anyways good shot keep up the good work

I'm gonna work AND play,doesn't matter how hard it is.I don't wanna feel like killing myself anymore.

This is why I have no fucking idea what to do with my life, especially since working with the public really depresses me.

This is so accurate. Also the little heart is so cute! 😍

*This Brought me to tears* Society expects me to be DUTIFUL to itself when I should rather be DUTIFUL to myself. I shouldn't sit in a cubical & delve into a career I would not enjoy simply because it ensnares financial stability! I want to live my life out of the constraints society expects to put me in. I will not allow society to box me up and tie the box in a neat little bow, only to fit within its standard and dull spectrum. THANK YOU @/SchoolOfLife!! It was a much needed reminder.

Thank you to my personal psychologist! And that HART was absolutely awesome.

School of Life: How to make someone feel desperate, hopeful, happy, sad, cheerful and depressed in a single video and at the same time. Love it.

This is idealistic tripe. Not everyone will have the opportunity to have a career they'll love, or even like, but they still have an obligation to contribute to society. Standing out from the crowd is not a common thing even if you love your labor, otherwise there wouldn't be a crowd to stand out from. Besides, there won't always be a great demand for what you "want". There will always be "needs", however, and if society is to function, the needs must be met, even if that means people have to work menial jobs with no hope of advancement, at least they _have_ a job. You can spout forth platitudes and put in flowery visuals but it doesn't change the reality that all things are not, and will never be, equal. Most people will have to contribute from a sense of duty since it is virtually impossible to get someone to "love" their job if meat processing, or garbage disposal, or whatever horrible but necessary job you can think of. Your perspective could only come from the flower-filled world of modern academia, where every day idiot children try to validate their life choice to become a musician, or a writer, or whatever will keep them from having to sit at a desk and truly contribute to society. Only a minuscule percent of them will have the talent and vision to become artists of note. The rest will go on to either regret the fact that they had no amount of foresight, or blame society for telling them "you can do anything", when they really, _really_ couldn't. I've been watching it happen for years and it never gets any less funny.

I simply can't agree with the theses laid out in this video. To be honest, it comes off as a hedonistic creed that encourages the listener to never do anything unless it's "fun," which is an excellent way to fail at everything in life - including the things one enjoys! At best it's poorly phrased; at worst it's complete nonsense. I mean, doing the dishes isn't especially "fun" for most people... but somebody has to wash them! There are duties that you can't avoid no matter how pleasure-oriented your life is, and this video draws zero distinction between those and, say, a dead-end desk job. The first sign of trouble is at 0:23, when the narrator mentions in passing that "as soon as something gets frustrating or boring, we simply give up and go in search of new sources of enjoyment." The narration as a whole never seems to examine this assertion further, setting up an implicit contrast between pleasure-oriented "giving up" and pain-oriented "duty." This is problematic because *everything* is "frustrating or boring" at times. No matter what your passion is, if you want to make a living from it there are going to be frustrating times when you have to push up against your limits or against the system you work within in order to improve and succeed. And there are going to be dull pragmatic elements - promotion, sales, travel, paperwork, etc. - that you must force yourself to do if you want to make any money at all. If you're lucky or very focused, perhaps your passion will let you flow right over these, but giving up as soon as a pursuit is less than pleasurable is a tactic that will see you abandon everything you ever touch. I also disagree with the dramatic dichotomy drawn between a purely pleasure-driven world of ages 0-5 and a purely duty-driven world forced on us thereafter. My two-year-old son already knows about his "duty" to clean away his dishes after a meal or put away his books and toys after use and so on, and much of the time he does those things without even being asked. When I make dinner or sweep the floor, he tries to help, and I let him (although he's not getting to use the sharp knives yet!). If a child is raised correctly, there should never be a shocking dividing line between pleasure and duty as one ages; there should simply be a gradient of responsibilities. The scene drawn shortly after the one-minute mark is similarly flawed. If a child doesn't "see the point" of writing an essay, then getting angry and invoking authority or "duty" certainly are bad parenting techniques... but that doesn't mean it's fine to avoid the "duty" of the essay! The point of writing is dual: to explore ideas, and to get better at expressing yourself. And both of these are indispensable tools for being a functioning social animal such as a human. The response to a child's boredom or frustration with an assignment should be to explain what the point is (if they're old enough to really conceptualize it), or to find a way to help them engage with it (e.g. ask what they find interesting about volcanoes, or show them some things about volcanoes that *you* find interesting as a model). The following assertion that adult duties are purely pain and especially that they can never be done well because only pleasure can truly engage us (~2:45-50) is, to put it bluntly, false. It's relatively simple to engage oneself in almost any task, from tedious jobs like dish-washing to challenging reading and writing or math, if one has conducive habits of mind. The biggest thing that strikes me about all this is that nobody involved in the making of this video has ever been to Japan. Japanese culture is even more weighted toward "duty" than the West, and tends to frame the performance of "frustrating" or "boring" tasks in a very different light. Where this video stresses the "pain" of duty and contrasts it with pleasure, and seems to advocate avoiding any task that doesn't give you a rush of endorphins, Japanese culture stresses the need to find a way to engage in whatever task you find in front of you. Think about the dishes again. This video suggests that a sink full of dirty dishes is a land-mine of pain, and we wash them because we have been habituated to do so by authority figures when we'd rather be off doodling in a book. But if nobody ever does anything unless they feel ahead of time that they will "enjoy" it, then who will do the dishes? Not enough people to meet the demand! The traditional Japanese approach is to take the dishes as a fact of life, and to ask the reader to engage with them as fully as possible because that is the way to lead a fulfilling life. Washing a plate may not give you a rush of joy, but focusing on the act *can* give you a sense of flow and engagement with the moment, and producing a nice clean plate *can* give a sense of satisfaction with a job well done. Most Westerners will associate this attitude with "zen," perhaps, and while that's not entirely accurate to Zazen practice and thought, it's a good guide. Our society is full of "boring" but indispensable tasks starting with household chores and extending through truck-driving, garbage-collection, desk-work administration, and lots and lots of reading and writing. If only the people who found pure pleasure in these tasks performed them, then society would collapse within a week as trash piled up, food ran out, and disease ran rampant. The solution to boredom or frustration is therefore not avoidance but "zen"-style engagement with each task - building up and then using (exercising and then exercising?) the mental ability to focus on any task you find before yourself and then to find satisfaction and fulfillment in a job well done after. This is not to say that passions shouldn't be followed or that everyone should be a desk worker, dish washer, or truck driver! If you have a burning passion for art, then by all means make art, even if it means less financial stability than a job scrolling and clicking at a desk. Society does need artists and reporters and explorers and other "exciting" jobs, after all. And yes, we should all try to weigh what we want out of life and follow that instead of being impelled by fear to simply do what some random authority expects or desires of us. But in the long run, a more nuanced view of "duty" is needed than what this video presents. What we should pursue in life is not pleasure, but engagement. And we should cultivate a mindset that allows us to find engagement in any task that's set before us, because even the most passionate pursuit will eventually lead to a moment of boredom or frustration, and it is only through finding engagement and satisfaction from even those moments that we can truly succeed in life.

Beautiful. Simple, clear, inspiring..

While anyone agrees with the result of doing something you "love" for a living, the main problem with this video is the means it proposes. It either tells people to quit their current careers, switch majors without knowing what to expect or puts extra anxiety on the young people's decision of a career path. While it is true that school is too focused on duty, and rarely are teachers able to ignite that spark of curiosity in students, it does teach us how to be disciplined; and that is a very important quality in life. Rather than finding that job you love, why not bring love to your job? Yes, we all have an idea of what would rather be doing for a living, but it either is not perfect, or we cannot have it. So, just try to morph your current job into what you would enjoy better. The wave of programs to make employees happy is an indicative that employers would help you get it since maximizing your well-being is in their best interest.

Tha's what I needed to hear! This channel is amazing!! Thanks for this video ! I consider myself as an extreme duriful person, since I was a child I've been doing things only to please my parents (specially mom) and I am 22 (almost 23) about to finish my major and I am still feeling unhappy with my way of life! And I want to feel complete doing thinsg that gives me pasion and fun!

LOL. The "school" of life - infantile version.

My grandma have always wanted to be an English teacher, she is now, but she doesn't like it anymore and finds it tiring.

you have such a way of complicating things, here: *all work and no play makes jack a dull boy*

This story changed my life.

I'm not "dutiful" you dork lol

This video is kind of misleading as true happiness stems only from duty. Make your duty to help others in life and you will know no sadness. :)

This channel haw grown rather large, and the comment section is filled with amazing insights about each video, which makes it unlikely at best that you'll read this comment. so School Of Life, if you're reading this, mind if I ask you to make a video about the drug wars in Mexico and the effects of living in constant fear an class disparity? I ussually take a bus to school on one of the poorest sections of the city and leads me to the very center with all the nice houses and walls made for only decorative purpouses so it's emphasized the disparity between classes of the haves and have nots. If you do make a video on the matter (or have already made one) I would love to help with the translation as a way to give back a little of all you've given to me. Also, if you lack examples, I'd be more than willing to get in touch and describe the political climate around said topics.

I like how this video takes it for granted that you have finished, or even started, university.

to be fair though, she could barely draw shapes

Amazing work guys

I wish you can provide spanish subs :( I love your videos but I'm not really good in english and I feel I miss some parts of the contents. You're awesome. I'll hope soon can share with my non english speakers friends and relatives

As an example, let's take music. Don't you think a massive influx of different musicians numbering in billions would lead to failure on a mass scale. Look at the number of successful artists in the music world. Compared to population size that number is very small. Look at the number of failed musicians that exists today. Now imagine if every person who is passionate about music attempted to join in. Sure they'd be "doing what they love", but most would fail to contribute successfully to society. Most would be average and below. How is that the right course?

"I Know Of Only One Duty... and that Is To Love" ~Albert Camus

That duty book is called "reality" and reality says we need to get good grades, get into university, have a decent paying job, have some kids, fill in the remaining time with sleep or if you have the time and energy fill it in with doing something you like and then we just die.

This is a great youtube channel, but although the videos seem to be well thought out and organized, this does not mean that everything he says is true. There are few things in life that you can accurately describe and understand, so take everything he says with a grain of salt.

I think some people may be misunderstanding this. I don’t think the message is necessary “quit your day job and pursue your fantasy,” although that *could* be the message for the right situation. For a lot of us, I think the message is to think about the work you already do differently if you can. If it’s unrealistic to leave your job, then a shift in perspective can help you find meaning and be more daring and creative in that setting. And that is necessary not only for fulfillment but for success

Ah. A philosophy for the privileged. How nice. This sounds like more than a few TED talks I know. I love School of Life, but this video was extremely weak (though the animations, as always, were creative and amusing). "Follow your bliss" is an inane and privileged bromide, speaking to an incredibly thin slice of humanity.

The School of Life: please create a video about how one can navigate the reality-how one can best craft compromises related to the fact-that for most people, because of insufficient talent or simply the cost of living and other obligations, one's passion most likely will *not* also be a viable career path, that passions will probably need to be reserved for weekends and evenings (presuming that one's day job, health, and so forth affords such free time at all!).

this is practically my whole life. in high school i always thought that having good grades meant a secure future and a high probability of getting a job and being successful. i viewed those who were having fun like like they were not conscious about their future which made me disassociate with people whose goal was not to work. But i actually noticed that most of my peers who were tryna have fun , make more friends and be social already understood the dangers of being dutiful. Today i feel like a have a lot of psychological disorders like schizophrenia, adhd and i'm hundred percent sure i have social anxiety. This system is so fucked up forcing student to study and have good grades for a better future whereas they know it's a lie. i' mma tell my kids to have hella fun and not worry so much about being the best in the classroom. Being intelligent on paper is different from being intelligent in real life.