Why Do You Work So Hard?
Mark Morford’s column in the SF Gate asks the question "Why do you work so hard?" Why do we all spend our lives in cubes under florescent lights getting RSI working on projects that we may or may not care about? Why do so few of us pursue what we’re genuinely passionate about? Why do so few of us even know what we’re genuinely passionate about? The answer he gives: fear. Fear of violating social norms, fear of going without luxury, fear of being different. We let these fears trap us in jobs that may be going somewhere or may not and that we may enjoy or may not. We’re trapped, but comfortable enough to let inertia keep us from making any changes or even thinking about whether or not we should be making changes.
This can’t be the right way to live. I like what I do, but is it really what I want to do for the rest of my life? The unfortunate answer is that I don’t know. Am I ever going to find out if I spend the rest of my days at a desk, comfortable with my paycheck and health insurance and well-understood place in the general order of things? Somehow, I doubt it.
It’s something to think about at any rate.