Why We Work - Laying the Foundation for Your Career

Let's talk for a minute hear about why we work. Not something that we stop and think about very often, is it? Oh, sure, there's the usual answers: pay the bills, pay the mortgage, pay tuition, pay for the car, pay for gas, pay for X/Y/Z. But that's all superficial when you really dig into it.

Truth is, there's something deeper to why we work. Everybody has the innate desire to do something more with their lives, to make a difference somehow. Nobody wakes up and decides that they want to be a below average human being. That's not in the nature of being alive. Given the opportunity, we all want to make our mark.

That is why we work. Nothing meaningful has ever been accomplished by sitting around doing nothing. Why would it be otherwise? It goes against the very laws of nature.

Sir Wilfred Grenfell once put it: "Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile."

For an Englishman that passed away nearly 70 years ago, he was definitely on to something there. Not to go all philosophical or anything like that, but any serious student of happiness understands that being happy requires that we do something. What that something is up to you--that's not something that a book or your parents or your spouse or your best friend/boyfriend/girlfriend/guidance counselor can tell you.

Beyond the obvious of getting off the couch and doing something, I think that Sir Grenfell had a great point at the end: when we do something, it should be worthwhile. Worth something. Something besides watching the latest episode of Lost or playing Halo or gossiping about the neighbors.

Now don't get me wrong--I'm not suggesting that we all become Mother Teresa copycats and do nothing but charity work. That's just not realistic, and nobody was Mother Teresa except Mother Teresa.

Each of us is unique in our talents and skills. What makes me happy may drive you crazy. And that's okay. There's no set definition of what is the perfect person. The fact that we're all different is what makes the world go round. Those differences mean that we all have a place where we belong and excel.

So what makes us waste our time doing something that we don't love or at the very least enjoy? I really want to hear what you think about this.