How To Make “Work” Work For All Of Us

How To Do Your Best Work

Amazing how every human being is always expected to do some form of work.

Even little Suzie and Johnny have their chores.

And in the interest of teaching “a good work ethic” those little ones may even be given money for doing work around the house.

Work is such an integral part of life, we have become our work. It’s normally the first question you are asked after you tell your name. “What do you do?”

Yet the normal response sentence contains not a verb, but a noun.

You do not respond, “I do health care,’ or “I take care of sick people”. It is more natural to hear, “I am a nurse”, or “I’m a Chiropractor”.

As if all the things you “do” — for your children, for your family and friends, at the charity where you volunteer your time, and while pursuing your hobby — do not matter.

Doesn’t All Your Work Matter?

People tend to be interested only in what you do for “gainful employment”. So when you are a stay-at-home Mom (or Dad), you are forced to assert your worth by adopting a certain tone in your voice when you say, “I am a housewife.”

In more modern times, we have evolved from the undignified “I don’t work, I am a housewife” to the more honorable “I don’t work outside of the home. I’m a stay-at-home, Mom”. But with many more people performing their job functions by telecommuting, “I work from home” has nothing to do with housework. Ironically, housework is many times neglected by those working in the house.

It has been clear even from Genesis that all humans will spend their lives in some form of work. In the beginning, the Man was expected to do the outside work of providing — hunting, farming- the food the family needs.

The Woman’s work was to prepare what the Man brought home, and use that plus other resources to take care of the family’s needs. The work of each member of the family contributes to the well-being and success of that family.

Today, work has become as diverse as humans. Long gone are the days of the simple professions of doctor, lawyer, chef, or engineer. People have merged skillsets of related and loosely related professions and developed brand new occupations. Nowadays, it is frequently necessary to explain what a “Revenue Protection Officer” is. No one tells you in Elementary school about the vital work of the person who patrols the train to make sure people have valid tickets. Who goes to school to do such work anyway?

Most fields are now so diversified and specialized that most people describe their careers in their most general terms, rather than the specialized area in which they function from day to day. The therapist who only works on patients’ shoulders does not usually differentiate herself from other professionals in the same field whose specialty is the lower body.

Every field has been splintered into multiple areas of specialization giving rise to expanding opportunities to work.

From our earliest days of consciousness, we begin to choose our “work”. Every child wants to “be” that worker they admire. Whether it is their father, the doctor or CEO, or the Rapper who stars in the TikTok videos they keep watching.

We are brought up to believe that “work” is an activity that will bring more satisfaction than whatever pain we will have to endure in the course of fulfilling the chosen occupation. But not all work is created equal.

There is no justice to be found in a system that rewards Lebron James more money in the year he dropped out of college than his college professor would earn over their lifetime. Could it be that the knowledge and education these professors are trying to dispense is not important at all?

Some are compensated so well for their work, they call it fun. The enjoyment is that great. But especially those who work in the entertainment industry enjoy an inordinate and improper proportion of the compensation available in the marketplace.

Somehow the world has failed to grasp the real value of the teachers whose work is to help these young millionaires develop the basic life skills to earn such millions.

Finding Work

The ability to find the right outlet for the expression and exhibition of one’s talents is itself another form of work that is sometimes done by people called “agents”.

Dr. Phil told one of the participants on his show, “If you don’t have a job, your job is to find suitable work.” Each person must identify which are their best and most marketable skills, and attempt to match those with someone willing to exchange money for the time workers give helping them achieve their business goals.

Those who find a comfortable fit between their talents and skills and the place to labor, enjoy their work. Others endure a marriage of convenience.

Because, whether the world rewards you for the work you do or not, You, distinct from everyone else, must determine what work you have been placed on this planet to do.

This is not a fortune that you must go abroad to find. It is a treasure you need to go within yourself to uncover.

This jigsaw puzzle of your life’s best work is comprised of pieces like:

• Your natural innate abilities
• What you love to do and are passionate about
• What causes you pain — which indicates the problem you should solve
• The different environments in which you must operate.

I have discovered that being fulfilled in your life purpose is manifested in more than one answer to the above questions. You are not a one-dimensional creation. Your purpose for being is not just one work you do.

In fact, you are not usually paid when you do your best work.

The World, however will only want to remember you for just one thing. All the work you will do in the other spheres of your life will be important to you. And I urge you to fulfill them.

But don’t expect the world to care much, or reward those efforts.

For example, we will never know the name or see the face of the limousine driver of the Presidential coach, or the pilot and crew of Air Force 1. Those military servants must even wait for a certain number of years before they are allowed to publish the news of that great assignment/accomplishment.

But how much of a hero is that person to their family?

How special are the circumstances that resulted in their doing that work?

Did the fact that they work in the White House ever seem commonplace to them? Do they ever take it for granted?

Did they ever yield to the temptation of feeling that their work was not that important because it was not publicly recognized?

Every Person’s Work

The work every person does in life is for somebody else. And every person who works experiences times of frustration when the people for whom they work do not show proper gratitude for their labor. Whether it’s the doctor who has to treat the COVID patient who refused to be vaccinated or the worker in the office or on the assembly line, from whom the employer withholds the benefits and rewards they are due.

In the end, our motivation for work must be inner personal satisfaction. Expecting appreciation and other rewards from the world always leaves you unfulfilled.

Yes, “work” works. But it only works for those who understand its self-fulfilling purpose.