There is no denying the importance of finding work that is aligned to our core values and beliefs. But further to that, why do we work and what does it afford us? Many of us will respond to the question of “why we work” with answers like: to be productive, to connect with others, to create something of value, and/or to solve a problem or need in the world. But how many of us recognise how work is able to help us understand who we are, our talents, and provide us with opportunities to develop ourselves intellectually, socially, physically?
Answering “why we work” is only one part of a greater equation though. Where earning an income is the main outcome of working, many of us struggle to understand what the resource of money actually pays for in the areas of life we need and want, or in what helps us to sustain change and our own evolution. But how many of us have the financial fitness or literacy we require to align what we do with how we want to live?
Being able to set our own financial and occupational goals based on the direction we have set, helps to liberate us from the need to continuously problem solve the life we find ourselves in -often based on unattainable standards or comparisons we make against others. It’s in answering these questions along with, what are the things that make us truly happy, which give us greater freedom and the ability to live within our means, and the opportunity to take ownership of our own “good enough” and desires.