Can you be happy and work?

You can! You really can, just follow your heart and passion the secret is.....

Before we jump ahead, let’s just define what we mean by work. My background has often meant that I’ve had to look clearly at definitions to understand and clarify the answer. It’s become almost a hobby of mine to look at words and find out where they have come from, brake them down in to small bits and find the true meaning and understanding of what it says. In fact this blog started as a post to argue how many disabled people who are considered by society as someone who doesn’t work, yet in reality they do so much via volunteering or other activities that to me should still be considered as work.

So work, this thing that we are told we must spend at least seven hours a day doing, five days a week. For At least 40 + years. Takes up so much of our time, often for little satisfaction or remuneration. Why is that? I personally over the years have done a number of jobs everything from storing boxes in a supermarket warehouse, market trading, working as an enforcement officer for the trading standards service, a manager for a call centre, an equality officer and now I work for myself. Which do you think was my favourite job? People who think they know me will jump to one particular one on the above list. In reality I’ve enjoyed every one of them. 

The reason being?  I’ve never really distinguished it as work. It’s just a part of my life. If I separated life from work, work from life, then I separate the two and in essence separate my life as well. Yet I am one person, the same person who lives, works and plays, there aren’t three of me. Just one whole! I choose therefore to try to be happy in my work and live my life fully and not break it in to little defined bits of happy at home and sad at work.

Thinking about work and in essence I’ve found two definitions of work which both ring true to me ( there are others ). Both are true yet only one is truly fulfilling and makes you happy

Work:
"exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; productive ".

Or

"employment, as in some form of industry, especially as a means of earning one's livelihood"

The first seems to me more relevant to me I want to accomplish a task be a productive member of society, for the benefit of all. The other definition is more about remuneration why does it have to be especially as a means of earning ones livelihood. Which if you choose as your purpose you will always want more and thus likely fail at. How much remuneration is ever going to be enough?

If money is your purpose I don’t think you can be happy, numbers go on for infinity there is no end to them. However if you work for or with a purpose and believe that what you do makes a difference and it does not matter whether you’re a dustman or a CEO what purpose you give will define what you feel about work. 

A clock has many parts each cog dependant on one another to achieve a task. Without the smallest cog or screw the whole doesn’t work. Each person similarly has a purpose in society that enables them to belong. So if you choose to have a purpose that makes a difference, every time you do that you achieve towards obtaining your goal.


So perhaps the answer is not to think about it as work at all, but just that its part of your important participation in society. Once you look at this way. You’ll realise and hopefully feel you have worth. When you have worth and know it then it’s important. If it’s important then you might as well enjoy it. 

For me and what I’ve often told my children, is no matter what you do. Do your best and strive to make the world better for others around you. Wake up in the morning and say not erggh I’ve got to go to work. But I’m going to live in society and make a difference. Even your smile on the way to work may brighten up someone’s day so go on, you can at least, smile...:-)