Do you work to live to work?

Most people today would probably affirm the former work to live.

Most people would be wrong.

We should do both. Work to live and live to work. We are meant to work.

I'll go one step further. It's what we are designed to do. If you have

religious leanings, it's right there in the Ten Commandments, six days you shall work,

and then rest on the seventh just as God did.

If you don't have religious leanings, well, it's just common sense.

A productive and meaningful life means spending more time working than doing anything else in

your life.

No other activity comes close, unless you count sleeping as an activity.

What one has to offer in skill, innovation, and productivity that is the work we do

is central to who we are. Nothing is possible without it. All things are possible if you do it well.

If you want to have a family, you have to work. If you want to own a home or give to charity, you have to work.

Working is what responsible people do. So then why does work get such a bad rap?

Why do movies and television portray ambition as an enemy of your health, your

relationships, or just about anything else? Yes, some use their careers as an

escape from other serious responsibilities and obligations.

But you can be fully committed to your work without letting it take over your life.

I dare say you know people who have managed this.

The far greater risk to our society is the popular

view of work as a chore that simply must be endured.

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