Why We Work

I had an interesting conversation with a friend yesterday about "why we work." For most people, the answer is straightforward: to earn money, to support family and/or to be successful (to be somebody). Let's call it category A. Then, there is a category (call it cat. B) of people who do it for reasons beyond themselves. These people (extreme examples come to my mind: Gandhi, Mandela) simply do it for the sake of a cause beyond themselves. And finally, there is a third category (call it cat. C): These people just do it for the sake of doing it. They fall in love with what they do, and they simply want to enjoy themselves. This category includes great performers like singers, dancers, poets, scientists, etc. Well, I am slightly stuck here. I am not sure who is the best example of this category. Perhaps, Steve Jobs. Perhaps, Einstein. Perhaps, the great Indian mystic, Osho. Perhaps, Picasso and Vincent van Gog. Perhaps, Leonardo Da Vinci.

The difference between A, B and C is this: In A, the goal is self reward. In B, the goal is to make a difference in someone else's life. And in C, there is no goal: Doing work itself is the reward!

Now, coming to the truth of it: Which category I belong to? Well, I am in A. However, there have been times when I have suddenly fallen into B and C, but such situations lasted for a few minutes or hours. And the next question: Where do I wish to belong to? I would like to be both in C and B. The journey continues...

This very post is not just the result of the conversation I had yesterday. This question has been bothering me since I watched the following video: