Today on Labor Day please hear my heartfelt appreciation for all front-line workers. You give so much of yourselves to ensure our communities have what we need, day in and day out.  We could not get along without you.  

Honoring all who use their heart, mind, and hands in their work, whatever form that may take.

Work in service-based industries, what we now call “front-line work”, is what makes the world go round.  Can you imagine if there were no waitstaff, no fast-food workers, no convenience store workers, no chefs, no grocery store workers, no healthcare workers, day care workers, mail delivery people, environmental services workers like facilities maintenance, housekeeping or sanitation workers?  The world would cease to function.  If you are working as a front-line worker, and you are feeling insignificant, please never forget this.  The world would cease to function without you and the self-less work you do.

Recently I’ve become aware that not everyone has the same idea of what “work” is, and what is valuable and honorable when work is discussed.  I had not always thought about work in these lines and silly me, I thought (wrongly) that everyone knows what work is and what is honorable and valuable.  But what I know now is these concepts vary a lot depending on where a person’s thinking is originating.  Does work mean leaving home at 5 am, commuting 2 hours in stop-and-go traffic, punching a time clock, doing tasks on “autopilot”?

The current pandemic has opened my eyes to what it means to be a frontline worker.  I had not thought much about all the different roles that make up frontline work until we had to close all but “essential businesses”.  This put a whole new light on a lot of work that many of us take for granted.  Well, that can no longer be true, at least for me.

While I’ve always respected whatever shape work takes for people, I’m also aware that not everyone has the same respect for different types of work.   

I’ve been asked “when do you work?” and I answer, “everyday” which is true, because work takes many forms and often due to when inspiration strikes, for me this is often a daily occurrence.

I’ve had loved ones question my answer like the one above with, “no, I meant when do you actually go to work?”   I now realize this question has to do with a person’s idea of work being a place you trudge to, and a place that is not your home.   

It’s been said, “When you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life”, and cliché it may be, but I feel it is true.

 I may do a voice record memo while on a walk with wording for an article, research needing to do, or something to add to other pieces of material I’m working on. Then when I get home if I’m still feeling energetic and inspired, I continue the line of thought that my walk inspired.  Now I consider my walks part of my work, essential to inspiration, flow and organizing ideas in my mind.  It doesn't always look like I'm working when these things occur, but to me it is work.  

It is enjoyable AND it is work. 

Never let anyone make you think that your work is without value, or not honorable.  Especially if that work is not of the “traditional” variety, or if it is not what you went to school for.  If you love what you do, it shows in what you do and how you do it.  This is something I’ve thought of a lot in the past.  I am a firm believer that no matter what job I was doing, I would do my best in that role, if my thinking was on the right path, and the job aligned with my values. “Bloom where you’re planted” is an expression that rolls around in my mind in times like these. 

I’ve been a nurse since I was 21, however, I’ve done some additional job roles in my work career that were not nursing related, some by choice, some by necessity.  Some roles I’ve worked in addition to nursing are gymnastics coach, realtor, beauty consultant, grocery store cashier, waitress, author, coach.  What do all these roles have in common?  The main goal of the job role is to serve others.  To make another’s day brighter, to empower another to be healthier, to guide to a choice that will make their lives better, learn new things.  Trust me, I was not always in a right frame of mind to think these things, but due to lifelong practice in shifting my mindset, I could usually get myself back to a more helpful frame of mind quickly, or after not too much turmoil.   I know that no matter what job role I was doing, I would find a way to feel great about it.  When doing this, I would then find ways to make the job, the workplace, and the people I worked with brighter, more efficient and a place that works for the purpose it was intended! Lol, that is just the way my mind works.    

Is it not work if I enjoy it?

Is it not work if I would, and have done this work voluntarily, and in what normally would be “off-time”? 

 Does enjoying ones work not mean it is not work?  I often hear “work is not supposed to be fun”, or “work is a grind, that’s just the way it is”.   I don't agree with this.  

I understand we often must do tasks we may not prefer in our work, but if our work is overwhelmingly painful or not fun, it may be time to think of what would make it fun or possibly a career change. 

I sometimes hear people say “I can’t wait to retire; I’ll finally get to do what I love”.  I am saddened by this the most.  Do you know how many people don’t make it to retirement or pass away shortly after retirement?

If you are not doing what you love now, why not?  Is there a way you can work in little bits of what you love into you present job?  Is anyone making a career out of doing what you love, and you could find a way to do what you love right now, by making a career change?

If you are looking for direction and inspiration, whether its your career, finances, relationships, spiritual life, or other life area that needs clarity, get your FREE pdf to here to “Design Your Abundant Life”

What are your thoughts on work?  Does work you enjoy and can't wait to get out of bed for sound like a dream?  Or are you already doing work that lights you up?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.  I love to hear what's on your mind!

Be well.