Why Do We Dislike Hard Work?

Today I spent roughly eight hours straight writing blog posts for a client of mine. I took just a few short breaks and I wrote 10 full posts.

Strangely, it didn’t feel like ‘hard work’ in the same way that hard work sometimes does.

At a few times throughout the day I got the inclination to get up and stop working, but it was surprisingly easy to put these thoughts aside and get back to writing.

I was in a relaxed state the entire time, and I felt that I wasn’t ‘stressed’ in the same way I would have thought eight hours of writing would make me.

 

–==–

I think that work feels stressful when there is no meaning or purpose behind it.

This may be why certain people are drawn to fields like social work, even if these positions pay less than other jobs. Stress walks hand in hand with the feeling that you are just surviving without making a difference.

Conversely, one of he best feeling in the world is knowing that you are making a difference. It’s amazing to know that you create a positive impact in the lives of others.

So, why was my blog post writing today stress free? Why did I no get antsy after writing five posts?

An Interesting note is that the work doesn’t really matter too much to me. I know I’m not changing the world with it.

I’m writing for a company that sells video creation services to small businesses. This has not been my passion… ever, and I don’t particularly think that they are ‘changing the world.’

The reason I loved my work today was that there was a very specific purpose I have for the money I’m making. I’ve got exciting plans, and I’m going to spend this money on an upcoming trip.

What is so exciting about this trip and the process of making the money? What’s exciting is that I was able to earn all the money for my trip in about eight hours.

This blows my mind. I’m taking a trip across America (all expenses paid) in exchange for about eight hours of my time.

I love this!

I really, really love this.

P.S. Where am I going? Check out my post next week 😉