Even Mrs. Claus Fell For It!

One of my favorite holiday activities is to watch Christmas movies with the kids. We watch all the usual suspects. Home Alone (just the first two, of course), Elf, Christmas Story, Rudolph, Frosty, and of course the Santa Clause series. After watching the three Santa Clause movies (though 2 and 3 are very suspect and I question how they made the permanent rotation), we decided to check out the new Santa Clause series on Disney Plus.

It’s been 28 years since Tim Allen negligently murdered the previous Santa and first put on the oversized pants and jacket. A lot of life has happened in those 28 years. The first episode opens with Santa doing his normal Christmas Eve toy delivery rounds, though it was a less-than-perfect experience. On the heels of his big night, he’s debriefing with Mrs. Claus. It was during this exchange a little piece of me died. We’re at the 14:30 mark in the opening episode:

Santa: *Explaining the bad things he experienced and how it was weird and concerning*

Mrs. Claus: “It happens”

Santa: “It happens!?!? How many Santas do you know? It never happend to me.”

Mrs. Claus: “I’m just saying that you’re 65 and this is when people your age slow down, they start to enjoy their lives, they retire.”

Wait, what!?!? Did Mrs. Claus just say Santa should start “enjoying life” and suggest the way for that to happen is to retire? He’s freaking Santa Claus!!! He has the best career on the planet. He lives in a majestic snow-covered village, aided by an army of elves, eating unlimited quantities of baked goods and perfect hot chocolate, waking up every day to put smiles on millions of children’s faces! And he needs to retire so he can enjoy life? At 65, he has a solid 15-20 years left in him. The best years of his career are still in front of him!

Even Mrs. Claus fell for our culture’s toxic perspective of work. Deep within our culture is narrative that work = bad…..and conversely, not working = good. We work because we have to. A necessary evil of sorts. A means to an end. I don’t think this could be further from the truth.

If done well, and for the right reasons, work should provide so much fulfillment and meaning. Using our passions and gifts to add value to society. Being productive, creating impact, serving others. ALL work can play this role, but for most, it doesn’t. Studies show 70% of Americans dislike or hate their jobs. This is a modern day tragedy.

Hating our work is a natural outcome if we view our work as a necessary evil and a bridge between our crappy life today and the “slow down and finally enjoy life” tomorrow. What if I told you we can have our cake and eat it, too? We can wake up each day excited for the good work we’re about to do (i.e. enjoying life) and someday when we can no longer work, we enjoy that life as well. Our enjoyment of life isn’t found in a bank account, the possessions we own, the dwelling we live in, or perpetual leisure. It goes so much deeper…..and good work plays a vital role.

Mrs. Claus fell for it, and so too are millions more.