Purpose of Life, Purpose of Work

[Choon]

Considering that there is a high level of rationality and contemplation in this forum and I guess many forumers are in their 40s and 50s with much life experience, I would like to ask some big non-investment related questions that I have been seeking answers to for long.

Why does one want to work hard? Say a middle-PMET. He has to manage and achieve the goals set by mgmt. He has to compete for resources with other PMETs. He has to be accountable to those reporting to him - try to give them a good living and inspiring work. Imagine amongst other work, the daily never-ending routine processes and tactful/passive-aggressive emails that one has to write. Just to climb the corporate ladder? Really? Rising up the corporate ladder and $ and power has such a strong pull?

Why does a CEO who had already made a lot of money still want to move on to another CEO role in another company - knowing that there's surely a lot of pain and skeletons and politics in every company? 

Or is there something else? Could one grow to like being able to work and just being in a position to help out colleagues around you? Could one take on a just-be-grateful and pay-it-forward attitude in work and life?

[¯|_(ツ)_/¯]

When I was much younger, my ex-colleague asked me to come out for a lunch which I obliged.

We were working in a large Germany IT company and when I left the company, he was a sales rep.  Within 3 years, he climbed up to be the MD of Singapore office.  Those were history as when I met up with him, he is a insurance salesman.

When I pop up the most important question, he says that being a MD, you're always chasing the numbers. At moment the number did not come in, you'll be asked to go, and hence, even at the top, there is constant pressure to out perform.

[weijian]

Hi Choon,

This world is too diverse for us to try to come up with a singular big reason for every decision others make. It is simply not black and white enough.

- A new CEO comes in, to create their own dynasty and politics.
- If progression is not part of our evolutive nature, would we be where we are now?
.....
.....
- The rational mind comes up with explanations that try to explain what is happening....when maybe trying to find an explanation for what you observe, isn't what one should focus on?

I think if we were just to focus on our own mission. We will realize it is meaningless to try to understand why others are doing what they are doing, nor compare among each other. Try a lot of things, and then you will know what isn't your focus  - at least that is what I am doing - not trying, is simply a disservice to myself - and each try-experience-reflect process gets me closer to my mission.

And I know I found and aligned to my mission...when it moves my heart as the inevitable crap storm becomes bearable because of it.

Happy CNY!

[BlackCat]

I work to make money, so I won't have to work anymore. Until next year hopefully.

A lot of people work their while lives then retire, got nothing to do, sit and watch TV all day. Its like a prisoner released after 40 years, he does not know what to do in the free world without his prison routine and being told what to do.

Maybe the younger generations will not have this problem.

[Choon]

Thanks Weijian, BlackCat, ¯|_(ツ)_/¯ for sharing your thoughts.

Still looking for an answer for myself.

Weijian, if you can share (but please decline if you prefer not to), what is your found mission?

[weii]

Has the pandemic made people rethink the pursuit of wealth?

https://www.theedgesingapore.com/options...uit-wealth

Key Points:

1) The pandemic has taken a toll, with surveys showing an increase in feelings of burnout and a deterioration in mental health in many nations. But the pressure has been building in developed countries for decades. Incomes have stagnated, job security has become precarious and the costs of housing and education have soared, leaving fewer young people able to build a financially stable life.

2) “When confronted with the prospect of mortality, people definitely behave differently,” says Benjamin Granger, head of employee experience advisory services at Qualtrics. “People are looking at work through a very different lens. The lens is things like, ‘I am not working for a pay cheque. That’s not what this is about. I need to be fulfilled.’”

3) Jack, a 32-year-old tech worker who gave only one name for fear of reprisal from his employer, was full of ambition when a telecommunications company hired him five years ago. But a punishing workload failed to translate into the success he had hoped for, and over time his enthusiasm drained away. He is still working, but not as hard.
“Many internet industries have reached a stage where there is no explosive growth,” Jack says. “But all the heavy work is still here. All the stress is still here. You lose hope.”
That Shenzhen is among the world’s least affordable cities adds to his woes. “Even for well-paid professionals like me and my girlfriend, it’s still crazy,” he says. “The downpayment for a flat in Shenzhen is two, three million yuan [about $424,000 to $637,000]. That’s like both our savings, plus very huge help from our parents.”

4) At the Sanhe employment exchange in the north of Shenzhen, dozens of recent arrivals from other parts of China gather to browse job postings. While the country’s migrant workers were once celebrated for their industriousness, these men and women have developed a reputation for wasting their time playing online games or streaming TV, picking up day jobs only when they need money to pay their phone bill or rent. Shunning longer-term work and factory jobs in favour of less demanding service roles, they sum up their lifestyle in a simple mantra: “Work for a day, have fun for three.”

5) Kairu Taira, 22, works for a consumer goods company in Kobe and runs a satori generation blog. While not a freeter, he considers himself a minimalist, with a limited wardrobe that includes only four T-shirts and four long-sleeved shirts.
He says the satori generation gets blamed for “not helping the economy enough,” because they spend so little. “But I think each of us is more able to see what’s really important in life,” he says. “In that sense, I like the term.”

[weijian]

Weijian, if you can share (but please decline if you prefer not to), what is your found mission?

Hi Choon,
It is a bit of a nuance because my mission ties along with my faith. And I read the Good Book.

Putting that aside, I just simply hope to show up everyday, be counted for and strive to be the best version of myself. At the end of the day, as Warren Buffett says, true success is when those whom you want to love, love you.

Keep on searching.

Actually, the answer may not be rational after all

And Po Bronson's book "What Should I do with my Life" might give some clues.

[karlmarx]

Life is all work. Find something you enjoy working on, and keep at it forever.

Sportsmen enjoy improving their personal best. Salesmen enjoy closing ever bigger deals. Familymen enjoy developing their children. Etc.

If you're asking yourself why you're working so hard on something, it means that thing you're doing may not be the thing for you.

The moment you stop working on something, is the moment when life loses meaning. This trait must be why the history of men is a history of progress.

My two cents.

[¯|_(ツ)_/¯]

agree. wishing everyone tap dancing to work.

read Jared@Singapore Man of Leisure
https://singaporemanofleisure.blogspot.c...thing.html

Again, wish everyone GRIT.

[Choon]

Thanks all, I am much encouraged.