Change - Meaningful work

When we meet someone new, the question we most frequently ask; after
discerning where they're from and whether we have any common
acquaintances, is "What do you do?"

Our work, to a great extent, defines us. It wasn't always this way.

Three hundred years ago, Voltaire argued that work exists to save us
from three great evils: Boredom, Poverty, and Vice. But, as a society,
we have since put our belief in two great ideas: Romantic Love and
Meaningful Work.

Historically, our faith in these two ideas grew up together. We
started to think that we should marry for love at roughly the same
time as we started to think that we should work not only for money but
for self-fulfillment. These are beautiful ideals, but rarely can they
be pursued without hitting a rough patch. It's always a shame to see a
person's talents wasted and that's just as true for those who are
employed but disengaged.

Ideally, our work should allow us to take the best of what's in us and
express it to the world. It should give our life dignity and meaning,
whether we're leading a team, writing software or just raising happy,
productive kids.
No matter how we spend our days, we have a clear choice. We can think
of our work entirely in terms of responsibilities and obligations. Or
we can view it as a contest, a challenge, an opportunity. Because if
we don't enjoy and share what we're doing, there's little chance our
work will please or impress us or anyone else.

Yet even those who recognize the above made point; are often reluctant
to change. Why? Reasons vary, but some are so caught up in the pursuit
of status, display, and material possessions that they've put
themselves in a bind.

The other reason so many remain stuck; whether we admit it to
ourselves or not is fear.

Fear whispers that, if we share our talent, challenges, success or
failure it will question our identity or status and trespass our
private zone. Fear betrays us, insisting that we're being unrealistic,
that we don't have the heart, the talent, or the discipline to see it
through.

It's not true. One of the best prizes that life offers is the chance
to work hard at something worth doing. A life of meaning generally
comes from finding a way to either increase the pleasure or decrease
the suffering of our fellow humans, whether we're compensated for it
or not. Work is the natural outlet for our energy and enthusiasm.
What could be more copacetic than to love what we do and feel that it
matters?

In Zen and the Art of Making a Living, Laurence G. Boldt writes,
"Without self-expression, life lacks spontaneity and joy. Without
service to others, it lacks meaning and purpose.... Conceiving of
ourselves as artists in whatever work we do gives us a metaphor for a
life of integrity, service, enjoyment, and excellence.... I know of no
better nutshell statement of the path to finding one's true calling in
life than the simple formula given by Aristotle: 'Where your talents
and the needs of the world cross, there lies your vocation.' These
two, our talents and the needs of the world, are the great wake-up
calls to our true vocation in life. To ignore either is, in some
sense, to lose your soul."

After all, the highest reward for your work is not what you get, but
what you become. Think enthusiastically about how you spend your days
and you'll put a touch of glory in your life.