Bummer
"Happy Friday!"
"At least it's Friday!"
"Happy Friday!"
"The week is almost over!"
"Thank God it's Friday!"
"I'm so ready for the weekend to get here!"
The six quotes above are from six different interactions I had yesterday. Each of these people were yearning for the end of the work week and desperate to get to the weekend. Can you relate? Would you say something like this? Most would. Wanna know what all six of these individuals have in common? None of them love their work.
In a society where 7 out of 10 Americans dislike or hate their job, statements like those above are the norm. They are to be expected. They are almost as ubiquitous as "How are you?" or "Good morning." We're expected to celebrate Fridays.
I used to celebrate Fridays.....a lot! I couldn't wait for them to get here. I needed a reprieve. I needed an escape. I desperately craved something else......anything else.
Around noon yesterday, it dawned on me that the week was coming to an end. I only had one thought: "Bummer." I had been sick earlier in the week, so it felt like I was just hitting my groove. I was working on some extraordinarily challenging projects that were pushing me to grossly uncomfortable places. I was stressed and frustrated, yet fulfilled. I learned things I never knew I'd learn, and addressed problems I didn't know needed addressing.
I could work 6-7 days per week if it weren't for this whole balance thing. My wife and kids need me to be a husband and a father, so it's imperative I create healthy boundaries. I think that's what makes fulfilling work so compelling. In a society that demonizes work and glorifies Fridays, it's odd to live in a reality where you must create structure to prevent yourself from overdoing work.
I'm not the only one facing this. There's an army of people who love their work. It's an unfortunate minority, but an army nonetheless. Work that matters matters.
Have you ever seen those videos where someone puts in hearing aids and experiences the sense of hearing for the first time. Often, they break down in tears, overwhelmed by a reality they never knew existed. Work that matters is much the same way. You don't understand that reality until the moment you feel it for the first time, and just like the people who use hearing aids for the first time, it can be immensely overwhelming.
This isn't me bragging. This is me inviting. I dream of a world where people are just as happy to go to work as they are to go home. A world where Mondays are just as exciting as Fridays. A world where instead of bouncing from awesome to dread to awesome to dread, people bounce from awesome to awesome to awesome to awesome.
If you know exactly what I'm talking about, keep living it out. Your example matters. Your testimony moves the needle. Others will follow.....eventually.....I hope.
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