It's a spectrum.

I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until I was 30 - that diagnosis helped a lot.

When I was growing up, I was convinced I was going to be a programmer like my dad. And when I was seeking work, I was trying to work my way up doing tech support to get my foot into the tech door.

The problem is that this was in the late 90s, before chat support (which I was much better at surviving). Telephone support sucked. I'm good at it, but I passionately hate it. I kept getting jobs doing it.

I remember once of them, around 2003, I got a job for a cable internet provider. Went through training, got out on the floor. I lasted about two weeks and one day I literally could not talk myself into going to work.

That's really not what they're talking about. In my case, I had to find something else to do.

All the saying really means is that it's okay if you don't enjoy your job - that you don't wake up and go HOLY SHIT I GET TO GO TO WORK COME ON LET'S GO GO GOOOOOO. You do have to survive, of course. And if you're in a shitty place, if you can find a better place, go for it.

But it's okay if you're mostly just ticking the hours at work and you can find your passions outside of it.

You also have to be able to stand up and stop after-hours bullshit, too. That is stolen labour and is illegal.

But it is complicated, sure. One simple saying is not This Is The Rulebook For Everyone's Life.