Why Not Both?

I recently found myself in a conversation with a friend when the topic navigated to work and careers. This is one of those friends that we get to be sincerely honest with, and vice versa. In the middle of the chat, he said, “I disagree with your advice to pursue work that matters.” Intrigued by this, I asked him to elaborate. In short, he thinks I put too much emphasis on work. His perspective is that work is work, a necessary evil amongst all the other things that provide us with meaning: family, friends, hobbies, travel, etc. Further, the more money we make in our work, the better life we’ll be able to afford (translation: more money = more meaning = more happiness). We debated this topic for a bit, and agreed our conversation would make for a good blog post……so here we are!

I understand where he’s coming from. I used to believe a version of this as well. As the conversation unfolded, he admitted to a feeling of dread every Sunday afternoon, feeling constant stress (even when he was at home), craving vacations to get away from it all, and dreaming about the day he’ll finally be able to retire and enjoy his life. Yes, he has a ton of meaning in his life. He loves his family deeply, has many close friends, actively serves and engages in his church, and has several fun hobbies. He has meaning. But his work is hurting him. Financially it’s helping him (big-time), but in many other ways, it’s slowly and secretly killing him.

Yes, it’s ok to dislike/hate your job and find a ton of meaning outside of your work. It’s your journey, not mine. I celebrate all forms of meaning and purpose. These are wonderful things. I would never demean any of that. But why can’t we have both? If half our waking hours are spent working, why wouldn’t we want this portion of our life to also have meaning? I’m not advocating for one or the other…..I’m advocating for both. I’m advocating for a life where we’re just as excited to go to work as we are to leave work. A life where we’re just as excited for the weekend to end as we are for it to get here. A life where we’re not in a rush to get to the finish line of our career.

Meaning at home AND meaning at work. Why not both?