Arbeit macht frei
Arbeit macht frei, literally work makes [us] free, is infamous for being inscribed at the entrances of a number of Nazi concentration camps, but that shall be subject for another day.
Work is the thing around which much of our life revolves. It is a purpose toward which we direct our energies, in which we find fulfillment and satisfaction, by which our desire for self-actualisation may be met. Of course, a type of work unsuited to us (such as, for instance, a boring and rigid job done by a creative type with a insatiable need to explore and innovate) instead drains and confines us. Even an appropriate type of work, done to excess, becomes exhausting and life-sapping instead of enervating and gratifying.
Yet there is a type of work for which people are willing to pour themselves out to the last drop. At first glance, the necessary precondition seems to be that it involves a number of people (not too many, otherwise it becomes dehumanising and detachment from the organisation occurs), and it seems that doing the work is just a way of developing the sense of belonging all people desire. On closer examination, however, it can be seen that the type of work to which people are willing to commit their all involves a strongly cherished greater purpose (this can be anything from a theatre production or major event to the sustenance of the existence of a club, or even providing for one's family). A team identity and the need to belong may play a role here, but there are instances in which it does not (e.g. self-proclaimed lone champions of an abstract cause such as free speech or free software).
It is most important that this goal must be seen as a higher purpose, one greater than self. Few will work themselves completely to exhaustion merely to earn more money or fame (they will inevitably, at some point, question the meaningfulness of doing so). But many will fight tooth and nail for the Greater Purpose, be it bringing home the bacon for one's family, running a show or an organisation that has great meaning or sentimental value, or saving the endangered species of the earth (or indeed the earth itself).
With these prerequisites met, the work is found meaningful and important and gladly done even if it is not interesting and, in some cases, menial. It might not even be considered "work", which has connotations of being a job we do out of necessity and for our own purposes.
It is not riches and mansions of endless pleasures that we desire, nor even self-actualisation in the sense of being what we can be for ourselves (good at athletics, art, intellectual disciplines, etc). Whether our lifetime goal, our dream, is to own a Ferrari, win a gold medal in the Olympics, earn a Nobel Prize, or even all three, I doubt we will ever be satisfied; we may end up wanting more or we might become dissatisfied with what we have achieved once the euphoria has worn off. Perhaps it is true, then, that work makes us free: albeit the type where we have stopped trying to win more for ourselves and begun to look to some higher purpose.
Work is the thing around which much of our life revolves. It is a purpose toward which we direct our energies, in which we find fulfillment and satisfaction, by which our desire for self-actualisation may be met. Of course, a type of work unsuited to us (such as, for instance, a boring and rigid job done by a creative type with a insatiable need to explore and innovate) instead drains and confines us. Even an appropriate type of work, done to excess, becomes exhausting and life-sapping instead of enervating and gratifying.
Yet there is a type of work for which people are willing to pour themselves out to the last drop. At first glance, the necessary precondition seems to be that it involves a number of people (not too many, otherwise it becomes dehumanising and detachment from the organisation occurs), and it seems that doing the work is just a way of developing the sense of belonging all people desire. On closer examination, however, it can be seen that the type of work to which people are willing to commit their all involves a strongly cherished greater purpose (this can be anything from a theatre production or major event to the sustenance of the existence of a club, or even providing for one's family). A team identity and the need to belong may play a role here, but there are instances in which it does not (e.g. self-proclaimed lone champions of an abstract cause such as free speech or free software).
It is most important that this goal must be seen as a higher purpose, one greater than self. Few will work themselves completely to exhaustion merely to earn more money or fame (they will inevitably, at some point, question the meaningfulness of doing so). But many will fight tooth and nail for the Greater Purpose, be it bringing home the bacon for one's family, running a show or an organisation that has great meaning or sentimental value, or saving the endangered species of the earth (or indeed the earth itself).
With these prerequisites met, the work is found meaningful and important and gladly done even if it is not interesting and, in some cases, menial. It might not even be considered "work", which has connotations of being a job we do out of necessity and for our own purposes.
It is not riches and mansions of endless pleasures that we desire, nor even self-actualisation in the sense of being what we can be for ourselves (good at athletics, art, intellectual disciplines, etc). Whether our lifetime goal, our dream, is to own a Ferrari, win a gold medal in the Olympics, earn a Nobel Prize, or even all three, I doubt we will ever be satisfied; we may end up wanting more or we might become dissatisfied with what we have achieved once the euphoria has worn off. Perhaps it is true, then, that work makes us free: albeit the type where we have stopped trying to win more for ourselves and begun to look to some higher purpose.