21 sats \ 5 replies \ @kepford 6 Sep \ on: Who Can Explain To Me The Point Of Work In The Modern Age? ideasfromtheedge
People (including me in the past) can have their sense of self completely wrapped up in what they do for a living. Their careers. Why? Because when you are good at something you usually get acceptance and respect for your skill and hard work. It can be a trap because your work will not be their for you when you can't perform. Your company will not love you. Your co-workers are not your family.
What I have learned is that I need to be aware of becoming to wrapped up in the praise of others. For some money/wealth is a huge motivator. Never has been for me. I started out my current career out of desire to provide for my family. As I became more successful I discovered my self-worth was getting to strongly tied to my career. The key is balance. Work is good for most people but like most things it can become an ultimate thing. I still enjoy my work but I have other things that are very key to who I am. My faith, my family, and my hobbies in addition to my work.
Here's something I've noticed. These days people seem to think that they have to do work that matters... If they can't do work they love they are not interested in working. This is a black hole of disrepair. All work that someone is willing to pay for matters. At least it matters to the person or company paying you. If it didn't matter, they would not agree to pay you.
Of course based on your personal moral values some work is not valuable. But that is subjective to your beliefs. Over and over again I have heard therapists advise depressed people to get jobs. This rings true for me because there was a time in my life where I was in a field where I would lose my job due to layoffs. I would receive unemployment benefits but there was a psychological effect. I think there are many factors but one was feeling like I wasn't producing any value. Or put another way, I wasn't desired. I wasn't needed. I think these factors can lead people to become obsessed or even addicted to work. But its not the work. Its the side effects of work. Work is hard. Great work requires emotional and physical energy.
Learning to work and work well is a skill we don't really teach. We focus on knowledge. Information. Not ethics. Laziness is not a virtue, but rest has value and is required for you to do good work.
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Exactly. And this is a mistake because economics are tied to the social. Also its a mistake because everyone can't be an artist or do something that has a more direct social impact. One can find joy in work that is more utilitarian. Many that work in such fields view their careers/jobs and fueling their other pursuits including their families.
IMO these issues with work are mostly present because of the wealth free markets have created. In centuries past we would not have the time to think about such things. We would be grateful for the food and shelter we have.
I am very thankful for the times of unemployment I had and many of the jobs I worked that I hated. They fueled my desire to focus on providing value and it has made me grateful for where I am today.
I think most people do no realize what they are capable of achieving given drive and hard work. I think most of us are not really working as hard as we can or effectively. When you make something, when you fix a problem, when you provide value to another person it feels good. And this isn't a bad thing. When you know how hard you worked to accomplish a goal it feels good. This is a much better problem than being hooked on a drug. But its not good to a slave to yourself and your self-worth.