Why do we work?
What is the point of work?
What does it mean to be hard working?
And why do I think being career-centric is a counterfeit to being hard-working?
I'll tell you.
Ages ago, I took courses in anthropology. I found the study of human society fascinating, mostly because 1) scientists/anthropologists keep changing their conclusions to new theories all the time 2) anthropology is linked to archaeology, which is just plain awesome (I like old ruins and artifacts. Proof that people were not ignorant louts in the past, as some assume). And while studying, we focused on the different societies and what made them thrive. One of the things I noticed while studying hunter-gatherer societies (besides that gathering was in fact more important than hunting -- something I had never thought of before) is that the core, or origin of all societies is the family. Now, I'm not saying the nuclear family. That is a modern invention, created when travel became a great deal easier, and so moving was easier to do. I'm talking about multi-generational families. Communities where grandparents (that were still alive) stayed with their children, often helped take care of them. Communities where cousins played together. This was the village that raised the child -- which is markedly different from a government taking over the raising of children.
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Governments started, originally, as families that had gained power over other families within a community, either through warfare or simply great abundance/wealth. This is what kings and lords are. If you read the Bible, you can see this kind of thing happening within the history of the Israelites. For example, Abraham came from the city of Ur of the Chaldeans (somewhere in Mesopotamia). But he set off independently with his family and ended up a powerful man with flocks and herds. His descendants branched off, creating enormous nations...each who claim (even today) to be the rightful heirs of Abraham (The Israelites are one of these descendants of Abraham, of the family of Jacob, who was the son of Isaac, who was the son of Sarah and Abraham. Whereas there are descendants of Ishmael, the son of Hagar and Abraham out in the Middle-East, who don't like the Israelites' claim to their birthright. Or the others who have similar claims, such as sons of Esau, the elder brother of Jacob). It all started out as a family.
And work, it started with the sole purpose to provide for the family's survival. Everyone worked. Not just fathers and mothers. Children also. Work was done for survival. People worked because if you didn't work, you had nothing. Money only became a factor when barter and trade became difficult, and a representative method of exchange was necessary.
Now, the formation of career came with the movement of populations into cities, mostly. The need to specialize for survival created the formation of guilds. Specialization is what created our work situation today. It created industry and the demand for more items faster.
So, why do we work? Honestly, I do it for the same reason our progenitors did--for survival. A lot of people with 'jobs' are like this. Work is work, in this case. Any old job will do as long as it puts food on the table.
But not everyone works for the same reason I do. Some people work for status. Some people work for a sense of purpose. Some people work for a sense of identity. Some people work for a sense of fulfillment... none of which have to do with physical survival.
Now, the word Career is not one I like. Not because having a career or being dedicated to a career is bad. But rather sometime people become so absorbed in career they forget what life is all about.
And what is life all about? Scroll back up to the top and re-read why people originally worked.
Human survival, real survival, is not done singularly. It isn't about the one versus the world. But in our modern age, society has become more singular. People are more focused on ME rather than US. So when the concept of work comes into play, so to speak, it isn't just about choosing a skill we are good at or enjoy for the sake of making work more pleasant, but it is more about finding fulfillment within the status and importance we feel while in a career. Basically, we've lost the reason for why work exists in the first place.
This is not to say you should not enjoy your job. Nor is this to say that you should not put forth time and effort into your chosen field of work. But when your job becomes you identity, you have lost focus on what is most important.
Have you ever known someone who has lost their sense of identity when they have lost their job? Or who, when their job has become obsolete, cannot cope? How about people who see themselves as their job entirely?
This phenomena is so common, that they have to make books like Who Moved My Cheese? to help people with career changes.
Working hard is what we as people ought to be, for the benefit of our families, ourselves, and society. However, becoming so focused on career that you lose sight of family and society... that is dangerous. When more people focus on their career, and not on the reason why such products exist in the first place, we have basically fallen into idol worship.
The movie, The Family Man shows this mentality really well. Nicholas Cage's character-- a career centric mogul-- was given a chance to see what his life would have been like if he had married his girlfriend. At first, he hated the life he would have had...because of what he valued the most. Prestige.
But later he comes to realize the most important things in the world aren't things.
The point is, why you work matters. Not just how hard.
This is why being career centric is a counterfeit to being hard working.
I'd say more, but basically, it is the difference between being selfish and selfless.
