Ask Baba Yaga: How Can I Tell the Difference Between Prestige and Personal Satisfaction?

Dear Baba Yaga,
I am afraid that I cannot distinguish what satisfies me because it is prestigious and challenging from what truly makes me happy. I haven’t yet found a balance, so the former wins out every time and I am afraid of wasting my youth on my career. The other day I found my first gray hair.

BABA YAGA:
You cannot tell the difference because, in part, they are the same thing, & because you do not yet know all the other things that make you happy. ; You must find & name yr hungriest wolves & then feed them accordingly. If yr work wolf howls louder than the others, throw him some good scraps to shut him up, then feed the second hungriest, & so on. — You . are a smart girl. Now do what you can to know yr wolves & keep them all strong, not starving.

Previously: “How Do I Keep From Dwelling on the Love I Haven’t Had?”

Taisia Kitaiskaia is a poet, writer, and Michener Center for Writers fellow. She’s taking questions on behalf of Baba Yaga at [email protected].