{"id":10662,"date":"2019-09-03T10:01:29","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T18:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/?p=10662"},"modified":"2019-09-18T02:44:22","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T10:44:22","slug":"life-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Think About Your Life&#8217;s Work"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"428\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/escher-staircase.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10677\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/escher-staircase.png 600w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/escher-staircase-300x214.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/26\/better-writing-brainstorm\/\">I wrote<\/a> about getting better at something you\u2019ve done for decades. In my case, writing.<\/p>\n<p>But what does it mean for your work to be \u201cbetter\u201d? Especially something creative like writing. Is the better author the one who sold more books? Won more awards? Or is it a personal question about the meaning you give your life\u2019s work?<\/p>\n<p>Below, I\u2019d like to outline my thought process for answering this question, with the hope that it may encourage you to think about your process for evaluating the work you do in your life.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The First Rule: There are No Rules<\/h2>\n<div class=\"inline-podcast\">\n<small>Listen to this article<\/small><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"20\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/681767207%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-FmQ62&#038;color=%23219895&#038;inverse=false&#038;auto_play=false&#038;show_user=true\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>A knee-jerk reflex when dealing with the question of \u201cbetter\u201d is to try to define it in words. This is the same impulse that results in so many insipid corporate mission statements full of well-meaning words like \u201ccommunity\u201d or \u201cservice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The problem isn\u2019t with missions, service or community. Rather, the difficulty is that the goals you have for your life\u2019s work are about something you feel, not something you think. Turning those feelings into bullet points can only leave things out.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"773\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/feel-vs-write.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10681\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/feel-vs-write.png 773w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/feel-vs-write-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/feel-vs-write-768x348.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 773px) 100vw, 773px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The truth is, we don\u2019t perceive any value explicitly through rules and sentences.<\/p>\n<p>This sounds mysterious, but it\u2019s really not. We also don\u2019t taste things through explicit rules. If I gave you some ice cream and asked you to tell me if it were chocolate or vanilla, you wouldn\u2019t consult a 98-point feature chart to decide, you\u2019d just let your tongue do the work.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, you don\u2019t really evaluate your work by rules either. Instead you create something, and then ask yourself how you feel about it. Sometimes that feeling is good. Sometimes it\u2019s bad. More often, it\u2019s a mix of emotions, with both the things you\u2019re proud of and the potential you didn\u2019t quite feel you reached. None of which is easily expressed in a sentence.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If There Are No Rules, How Do You Get Better?<\/h2>\n<p>So if you\u2019re not actually following rules when deciding whether your work is good or not, how can you possibly improve?<\/p>\n<p>This, too, is actually easier than it sounds. We do it all the time.<\/p>\n<p>You make scrambled eggs and they taste better than last time. You don\u2019t need a feature-by-feature breakdown scored by experts to know this. You just chew.<\/p>\n<p>Improving in your work is very similar. Do I like this more than what I made before? Compared to others\u2019 work? What could have been made better? What did I do well?<\/p>\n<p>Some people are uncomfortable approaching things this way. They\u2019ve become so convinced that everything ought to be measured, analyzed and dissected that they forget they can simply taste things.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Just Tasting Doesn\u2019t Always Work<\/h2>\n<p>The scrambled eggs analogy, however, isn\u2019t a perfect one. Because we don\u2019t just cook for ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>Your work may be driven by your own taste buds, but ultimately its whether other people can stomach it that decides if you can make a living. You may adore your banana jalape\u00c3\u00b1o omelette, but that\u2019s not enough to make you into a chef.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"350\" height=\"306\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yuck.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10668\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yuck.png 350w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yuck-300x262.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>As a result, the meaning of our work always hovers in a fuzzy boundary between personal taste and outside appreciation. The meaning of our work is never entirely decided by us. It\u2019s filtered through the tastes of other people.<\/p>\n<p>This can lead to two different mistakes:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Only following your own taste. <\/li>\n<li>Losing the ability to taste your own work.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Only following your own taste can lead to solipsistic, naval-gazing work that only the artist appreciates. This is a serious problem because, as the creator of something, you are, at least in some ways, never like the people who simply consume it. <\/p>\n<p>Conversely, you can get so focused on the outside that you lose your sense of taste. You chase reviews, acclaim, sales and applause. You want to be respected by others, never asking if you respect yourself.<\/p>\n<p>The challenge is to balance both. To have a refined palette for your own work so you can improve, but at the same time recognize when your tastes diverge from the people you serve.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Do Work You Love (That Other People Love Too)<\/h2>\n<p>The only solution is to pay attention to both. Cultivate your own sense of taste for your work, but at the same time keep an eye on how others are consuming it.<\/p>\n<p>The first step in balancing these two competing signals is to see when they are likely to fail. Personal taste can be misleading when:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Your interests differ from your audience<\/strong>. You may care about something much more or much less than the people you want to reach. You love spice, but your guests can&#8217;t take the heat.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You know things your audience doesn\u2019t<\/strong>. You may know things about the world your customers don\u2019t. Connoisseurs notice flavors a novice will ignore.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You can&#8217;t see with fresh eyes<\/strong>. For you, this work might have taken thousands of hours. Chew something over that much and it tastes differently than someone taking the first bite. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Similarly, signals from the outside can also mislead:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sometimes success (or failure) means nothing at all<\/strong>. Some things you do will be popular, some won\u2019t be. Sometimes there&#8217;s a lesson to be learned. Sometimes it&#8217;s just luck.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Most people really do judge books just by their covers<\/strong>. Most will only skim the headline, remember the sound bite, tweet the hashtag. But you want your life&#8217;s work to be more than just catchy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>They ask for the old, but want it to feel like how it was when it was new<\/strong>. Forever trying to replay your greatest hits repeats the surface forms, not the way people felt about the original.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Balancing personal taste and outside appreciation is hard. It\u2019s easy to swing to one extreme then the other. To be the starving artist who won\u2019t listen to any outside feedback for fear of tainting a personal vision. To check sales, reviews or scores obsessively to validate your worth.<\/p>\n<p>Like the question of taste itself, integrating the two signals is more art than science. I tend to trust my own taste first, but moderate based on outside feedback. If I love something but others don\u2019t, that\u2019s an opportunity to dig deeper to ask why.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Improving Your Sense of Taste<\/h2>\n<p>Getting better is a twofold process. First, getting better at your work, as judged by your sense of taste. Second, improving your sense of taste itself.<\/p>\n<p>The first way to have better taste is to consume a lot. If you\u2019re a writer, read. If you\u2019re a painter, look. If you\u2019re a programmer, read other people\u2019s code.<\/p>\n<p>Consuming better work improves your sense of taste in two ways. The most straightforward way is that more data leads to better discrimination. See one good movie, and all the movies you see will be compared to that one. See a thousand good movies, and your appreciation of cinema will be much more nuanced.<\/p>\n<p>The subtler (and sometimes dangerous) way consuming more improves your taste is that you unconsciously imbibe successful styles from the past. You mimic what has worked well for others, while still making it your own.<\/p>\n<p>This second process isn&#8217;t without risk. Too much exposure to others and you lose your beginner&#8217;s mind. You can no longer see something with fresh eyes, but only through a kaleidoscope of other work.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"382\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/beginner-mind.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10679\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/beginner-mind.png 500w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/beginner-mind-300x229.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rediscovering the Beginner\u2019s Mind<\/h2>\n<p>Consuming more isn\u2019t enough. You also need to learn to unsee. To empty your mind of what you\u2019ve filled it with before. <\/p>\n<p>Unlike simply consuming more, this is much harder to do. Talking to people helps. I find travel helps. Ironically, learning something completely new also seems to help, as you return to the starting point of all things.<\/p>\n<p>Better taste isn&#8217;t enough for better work. You can have a refined palette but be unable to cook. If you want to get good at making, not just critiquing, then you actually need to make stuff.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Meaning of Your Life\u2019s Work<\/h2>\n<p>Meaning isn\u2019t subjective. But it\u2019s not objective either. It follows patterns, but it doesn\u2019t break down into explicit rules.<\/p>\n<p>So too with the meaning of your work. It\u2019s personal, depending more on taste than recipes. But it&#8217;s also not only for you to decide. To matter, it also has to touch the minds of others.<\/p>\n<p>This is challenging, but also exciting. The space of possible things to be made greatly exceeds what will ever <em>be<\/em> made, both now, and until the end of time. Your work allows you to explore one sliver of possibility, and bring something into the world that, without your care and skill, would never have existed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, I wrote about getting better at something you\u2019ve done for decades. In my case, writing. But what does it mean for your work to be \u201cbetter\u201d? Especially something creative like writing. Is the better author the one who sold more books? Won more awards? Or is it a personal question about the meaning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10662","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-personal-development","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Think About Your Life&#039;s Work - Scott H Young<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What does it mean to get &quot;better&quot; at creative work? Cultivate your own sense of taste, and then use that to drive the work you create.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Think About Your Life&#039;s Work - Scott H Young\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What does it mean to get &quot;better&quot; at creative work? Cultivate your own sense of taste, and then use that to drive the work you create.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Scott H Young\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AuthorScottYoung\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-03T18:01:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-09-18T10:44:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/escher-staircase.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scott Young\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@scotthyoung\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@scotthyoung\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scott Young\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Scott Young\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2f58ab6c4a36422c78416e5b7a79604c\"},\"headline\":\"How to Think About Your Life&#8217;s Work\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-03T18:01:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-09-18T10:44:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1497,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/escher-staircase.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"General\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Think About Your Life's Work - Scott H Young\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/escher-staircase.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-03T18:01:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-09-18T10:44:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2f58ab6c4a36422c78416e5b7a79604c\"},\"description\":\"What does it mean to get \\\"better\\\" at creative work? Cultivate your own sense of taste, and then use that to drive the work you create.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/escher-staircase.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/escher-staircase.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":428},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/03\\\/life-work\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Think About Your Life&#8217;s Work\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Scott H Young\",\"description\":\"Learn faster, achieve more\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2f58ab6c4a36422c78416e5b7a79604c\",\"name\":\"Scott Young\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a2da240fb070ba8346e3be8b89043b66c39bdcf933d9e7311dcb10383d0bc645?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a2da240fb070ba8346e3be8b89043b66c39bdcf933d9e7311dcb10383d0bc645?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a2da240fb070ba8346e3be8b89043b66c39bdcf933d9e7311dcb10383d0bc645?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Scott Young\"},\"description\":\"Hello, my name is Scott H. Young and I am obsessed with personal development! When I am not reading several books a month on the subject I am constantly trying to find new ways to improve and get more out of life.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scotthyoung.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/scottadmin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Think About Your Life's Work - Scott H Young","description":"What does it mean to get \"better\" at creative work? Cultivate your own sense of taste, and then use that to drive the work you create.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Think About Your Life's Work - Scott H Young","og_description":"What does it mean to get \"better\" at creative work? Cultivate your own sense of taste, and then use that to drive the work you create.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/","og_site_name":"Scott H Young","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AuthorScottYoung\/","article_published_time":"2019-09-03T18:01:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-09-18T10:44:22+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/escher-staircase.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Scott Young","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@scotthyoung","twitter_site":"@scotthyoung","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Scott Young","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/"},"author":{"name":"Scott Young","@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2f58ab6c4a36422c78416e5b7a79604c"},"headline":"How to Think About Your Life&#8217;s Work","datePublished":"2019-09-03T18:01:29+00:00","dateModified":"2019-09-18T10:44:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/"},"wordCount":1497,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/escher-staircase.png","articleSection":["General"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/","url":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/","name":"How to Think About Your Life's Work - Scott H Young","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/escher-staircase.png","datePublished":"2019-09-03T18:01:29+00:00","dateModified":"2019-09-18T10:44:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2f58ab6c4a36422c78416e5b7a79604c"},"description":"What does it mean to get \"better\" at creative work? Cultivate your own sense of taste, and then use that to drive the work you create.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/escher-staircase.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/escher-staircase.png","width":600,"height":428},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/life-work\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Think About Your Life&#8217;s Work"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/","name":"Scott H Young","description":"Learn faster, achieve more","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2f58ab6c4a36422c78416e5b7a79604c","name":"Scott Young","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a2da240fb070ba8346e3be8b89043b66c39bdcf933d9e7311dcb10383d0bc645?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a2da240fb070ba8346e3be8b89043b66c39bdcf933d9e7311dcb10383d0bc645?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a2da240fb070ba8346e3be8b89043b66c39bdcf933d9e7311dcb10383d0bc645?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Scott Young"},"description":"Hello, my name is Scott H. Young and I am obsessed with personal development! When I am not reading several books a month on the subject I am constantly trying to find new ways to improve and get more out of life.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/author\/scottadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10662"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11104,"href":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10662\/revisions\/11104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}