Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Speaking of which...

I just want to reiterate that happiness or fulfillment does not come from work. Or, rather, happiness and fulfillment come from growing our networks and communities through love and honesty, which I guess can be found at work maybe.

There is more evidence humans are hardwired to appreciate networks, or rather communities. So when we say that something makes us feel happy or fulfilled, we usually mean that we feel honestly connected, respected, and loved in our community network.

"This is sincerely important to me!"
I can imagine work that can give that to us. But for many of us, our jobs give us other goods: money, for one, and depth of knowledge, power, or ease. Most jobs are looking for something else, too: speed, efficiency, and false sincerity. Not all jobs or careers exchange these, but many many do.

Those of us with these jobs (most of us) find other avenues for happiness and fulfillment. Family life is a good start, or non-work groups like volunteer and church communities. Many of us have fulfilling hobbies through which we meet with friends and our honest personalities are respected.

If you are looking for that career in which you will find fulfillment and happiness for 40 hours a week at about $50 grand a year, don't hold your breath. Instead of sacrificing your life now for a future career that may never materialize, go bowling or start writing or just watch movies with a friend. Any networks and communities you build today are more valuable than the time you spend working for a job that really might not exist.

1 comment:

  1. I'm going to go back in time and try to bring this post up again, because I think it's an interesting one. Our friend Alex told me about an article that I just found last night which isn't quite a counterpoint, but does take an entirely different approach to the question of work in our lives.

    http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-harsh-truths-that-will-make-you-better-person/

    Curious about your thoughts!

    ReplyDelete