Putting Value in Your Work

Growing up in a working class family, hard work was instilled in me ever since I could remember. 

Good grades were rewarded with toys or food, and bad behavior was punished by being incarcerated in our small bartolina (so medieval, I know, but my grandfather's house had one). 

Working my first real job, it was instilled in me that working hard for your stats will reap good rewards. My first real job was also the one that reinforced in me the attitude of following the rules and not involving other people in business that could get somebody fired. I was taught that working a set number of hours is equivalent to X amount of money. 

But the most important lesson that I learned was pride. I was taught that if I worked hard, I could produce something that I can be proud of.

Working has taught me that effort may sometimes go unrecognized, but knowing that I did well and that what I did brought me pride made me happy. Yes, hard work makes me happy. Not exerting a lot of effort on a task makes me uncomfortable. Other people may be okay with it, but I am not.

It irritates me to no end when people misinterpret the saying "Work smart." Working smart does not mean taking shortcuts; working smart means using all of your resources and working hard towards your desired results. Working smart and working hard have always been together. It took hard work before successful people realized what "Work Smart" really means. 

What irritates me right now is people who break the rules just because they can. Sure, I sound uncool when I get annoyed by them, but that's life. You will eventually get what you deserve. If you have a 9-hour shift, you clock out after 9 hours. You don't go around telling people that your mother needs your help and that you'll be right back before the end of your shift but you really have no plans of coming back. You come back before the end of your shift. It's called being responsible. You are not getting paid to mess around, you are getting paid to work. 

What value are you placing on your job that a lot of people would kill over? Not much if you skip out on your job once a week. What you are basically saying is that you are better than everybody else because you can get away with it, and that you have gotten away with it for so long. 

People might think that I am just envious because I am tied down to my desk most of the day. No, I am not jealous. I am actually happy that I have the strength and will to power through my day even when I am not feeling well. 

Hard work makes me happy. It always has, and it always will. At the end of the day, it's all about the value you place on your self and your skills, and not on whether or not you can get away with breaking the rules because you are in a position where people are afraid to call you out on your actions. At the end of the day, it's the value you place on your work that is going to make you happy.