Why Do You Work?

So, why do you work? Oh, I know, because you enjoy eating, having a place to rest, wearing a warm coat, etc. But beyond providing for the basic necessities of life, why do you do the work you do? If your work only provides a source of money and you get little or no satisfaction from it, I would say you are being underpaid.

Your work and your job should also provide you with some sense of satisfaction, a sense of making a contribution to making this a better world. Ideally, your job should feel like an adventure. You should look forward to going to work - at least on most days not mind going to work.

If this doesn't describe your situation, I would ask if you have considered changing jobs. If not, is that because you think if it were enjoyable, they wouldn't call it "work"? So many people I have talked to are just "marking time". They have been in their job so long that they hate to leave their employer and if they can just hold on, or hang in there another ___ number of years, they can retire and then do what they want to do. Part of the problem with that thinking is that not everyone is able to hold on and, sometimes involuntarily, their jobs are gone. Another problem with that thinking , at least from my point of view, is that life is too short to spend it wishing, hoping, and waiting for something that may or may not ever come.

So, if you have been just "holding on", I encourage you to start thinking about what kind of work you would do if you could afford to work for free. What could bring you joy just thinking about your work/your contribution? What gifts do you have to share with the world? Once you begin to picture that, then you can begin to figure out how to make that picture a reality.



Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including career change, job search, as well as loss of job, retirement planning, coping with an empty nest, non-retirement planning, and other life planning issues. She is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association; a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association; and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). Please visit her website at http://www.yourcareerplan.com/ for more information on her services.


To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.