We derive meaning and purpose in life from the work that we do. The problem is that many of us find the work we do pointless, unappreciated, and emotionally draining. Rather that getting joy and meaning from our work we get nothing but exhaustion and difficulty.
In this post Joshua Becker shows us how we can change our perspective on work.
“We often miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work.” ― Thomas A. Edison
The average person will spend 20% of their lives at work. This statistic factors in 21 years of preparing for work and 13 years afterwards (retirement). During our actual years of working (ages 21-67), this percentage goes up to 25-30% based on a typical 40-45 hour/week. Subtracting sleep, on average, we spend 33% of our waking hours working. You can find more details on these statistics here. But don’t worry too much about the method of statistical computation. They tell us what we already know:
We spend a significant amount of our life working. It is a large piece of our life. And it is important to think thoughtfully and intentionally about it.
I have known countless people who are happy with their work. They find meaning, significance, and joy in it. Additionally, I have met many people who are unhappy with their work and choose to spend an additional percentage of their life complaining about it. Interestingly enough, these differences in attitudes have little to do with the actual work being done—in fact, two people in the same field can have completely different responses to the same job.
Finish reading A 7-Step Path to Enjoying Work | Becoming Minimalist
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