Did I Just Have an Epiphany?

I might have had a break-through.  In school we learned about these men who would starve themselves so their brains would use ketone bodies for energy instead of the usual glucose.  Supposedly these men experienced enlightenment and heightened clarity.  Maybe they just went crazy from lack of food.  I might have experienced something similar, extreme work conditions in the ER are kind of like starvation...right?  Anyways, I realized that work cannot/should not/most likely will not be the love of my life, and I need to accept that.  For the first time it really sunk in that I have to support myself one way or another, and that being able to support myself and feed myself and have a roof over my head is actually more important than being happy or loving my job.  I need to accept the fact that my job does not define me and it is simply a means to an end.  In order to have the things that I deem necessary (unfortunately they include AC, my own place and a nearby beach at this time in my life), certain sacrifices have to be made in other areas.  I don't know why but this has been a very difficult lesson for me to learn.  I feel that in today's American society, there is so much pressure on young people to pursue their dreams and find something they love to do ("If you love your job, you'll never have to work a day in your life!"), we lose sight of the plain fact that in the end, we all just need a paycheck. I don't know why, but I have always felt guilty, like I am cheating myself out of something, if I don't love my job, and I really need to get over that.  We define people so often by their occupation, when we really shouldn't, and that includes  defining ourselves.  This is one of the few experiences I have had that make me feel (and then realize) I am getting older.  I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing....but it is definitely something new and different.