Labor Day and the Gift of Work

One of my favorite movies is The Ultimate Gift, which is an amazing story about the various gifts we can receive (love, dreams, laughter, learning, family…).  The very first gift in the movie is the gift of work.  As the father of a teenager, I can tell you that they do not associate work with something wrapped in fancy paper and a bow.  This got me thinking about work and what it gives us.

Obviously, most people work in exchange for a paycheck and the basic necessities and lifestyle it buys.  It is a business transaction.  I will give you 40 hours and you will give me wages.  But is work only about a contractual agreement?  Does it give us anything else?  Is it really a gift?

My father always talked about the “value of a hard day’s work.”  Much like my teenager, when I was young I rolled my eyes and thought he was old each time he said this.  But later I came to appreciate this and learned to use it to my advantage.  I played organized sports growing up and learned early on that hard work could make up for a lack of some natural talent (size, speed…).  I also came to realize that many people with talent try to ‘get by’ without working as hard and they can be beaten by out-working them.  My high school coach told me he never coached a player that got more out of his natural talent.  I always valued that statement; although as I write this, I am guessing he could have been saying that I lacked talent. J

As I work with my clients, I see this common theme.  Most of them would state they achieved success by outworking the competition.  It would seem to me that work creates opportunity or helps us overcome a lack of talent or skill.  It creates an advantage. 

 Work also creates a great sense of satisfaction.  When I think about all the hard work I have done in order to get healthy, I have a wonderful sense of achievement and as my doctor would say, “the hard work has paid off.”