Why do you work?When I asked this question in a conference room all I got was silence. It's actually a really hard question, and answering it in front of a group of people can be daunting. People felt like they could be wrong.
Well, there is no right answer, it's only important to know "why" so that you have purpose and direction. It helped when I gave them some of my personal reasons for working:
- To create opportunity
- To solve problems
- I have obligation to earn a living
- I didn't win the lottery
- I love what I do
- I need somewhere to go in the morning
- I didn't inherit millions
- My wife would kill me if I sat around the house all day
- Be around like minded people
- Reaching milestones
- Learn from others
- Engineers are cool
The list goes on, but the point is it's very personal. The key is not to ask yourself "why do you work at X company", but rather, "why" you work? Some of my answers are very common and others are cliché, and that's ok. The point is that you should take a personal inventory, decide for yourself and then ask if your career is right for you. If it is, do more. If it isn't, get out. You owe it to yourself.
I would love to hear the truth about why you work.
Photo by: wili_hybrid
