Earn a living.
This is a commandment that has become a colloquial phrase in American culture. We hear it and know what it means. It means work hard to become successful. It means work hard to get the things you want in life. It means work hard to be happy. Right?
Without giving this phrase much consideration, we are perpetuating the idea that our only worth comes from our work. We are fulfilling the notion that work is the most significant aspect of who we are, and that it should be the main part of our lives.
There is a degree to which I agree with the relevance of our work. Our work should be full of passion, excitement, progress and growth. Our work should be what we love and it should be fulfilling. Work certainly is important and provides us with opportunities for stability, experiences and relationships. Work can be a great tool for us to live out our life dream. The problem comes into play when work is the defining factor of our value as human beings and when our work is not motivated by passion, but by material desires. We are trained to believe that work comes first-before family, friends, leisure, and health.
When work becomes our sole purpose, what kind of life are we living?
If we take a step back from the structure of our society, there are clear issues. Perhaps one problem is that we fail to recognize and appreciate the value of differences. Yet we insist on putting all people through the same rigid system. How is it possible that there is one model of success and one way to lead a happy life?
Unfortunately, we are too “in the system” to realize it might not be working.
Robert Frost said, “By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day.”
We are consistently working for the future, the next step, working to progress in the business world. Our mindset is that if we get promoted or get a raise we will be successful and if we are successful, we will surely be happy.
Happiness and success have become synonymous.
This is an unfortunate truth that is having detrimental impacts on us. We are rarely present or mindful of the current moment we are in. We are always striving for future success instead of being grateful for what we have right now. We are so far off the path of our souls, that we do not even know what makes us happy or why we are valuable outside of the workplace.
We need time with our loved ones to enjoy carefree adventures. We need days spent outside of an office. We need time to eat without the distraction of getting back to work as quickly as possible. We need to pursue hobbies and spend time reading, writing, hiking, camping and just being present.
My thought is that you don’t need to earn a life. You already have a life. So make the most of it.