#MeaningfulWork #WorkLifeBalance #DigitalNomads
Hey everyone! 👋
So, I was browsing through r/digitalnomads and found myself in a bit of a debate with some folks about what they call “meaningful work.” It left me wondering—what’s the deal with these “Meaningful Work” folks? 🤔
Here’s a quick rundown:
– Some people just **can’t comprehend** that I might not enjoy the grind of working constantly.
– They assume I hate my job and that I must be bored without work—totally missing the mark!
– One guy even threw around some outdated thoughts about men needing meaningful jobs, linking it back to cavemen. Seriously? 🤦♂️
Truth is, I really like my job. I’m good at it, it provides flexibility, and I can enjoy life outside of work. But for me? Work is simply a means to an end. If I had the chance to never work again, I’d jump at it!
Here’s what I think about “meaningful work”:
– **Most people** aren’t even in a position where they can consider what “meaningful work” means for them. They’re just focused on surviving.
– The idea of turning my hobbies into money feels like a recipe for disaster—I don’t want success metrics messing with my passion projects! 🖌️
– I often wonder who started this narrative that if you’re not working, you’re just bored. The stories I hear about rich folks getting bored after selling their companies don’t resonate with me.
So, here’s my question for you all: **What are your thoughts on “meaningful work”? Do you believe work should be fulfilling, or can it just be a way to fund your passions and enjoy life?**
I’d love to hear your experiences or tips! Drop a comment below! 💬
It’s weird coping and capitalist indoctrination. Also a lot of people are more materialistic than they like to admit to themselves.
You just haven’t found something that you love or could not monetize something you love to do. It’s not that hard of a concept. If you love working out and you could get paid to work out everyday, you’d probably never want to stop. I mean, if it’s something you love to do, you’re not going to stop anyway right? Get paid to do it instead of doing it for only the love of it.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting meaningful work. It’s just that jobs most people would consider meaningful aren’t that common.
People just make shit up to justify what they already feel. Notice I said “feel” and not even “believe” or “think,” because I genuinely think no thought goes into it at all. They literally just spew the first thing that pops into their head about their gut feeling about a thing, and because they said it out loud, are immediately attached to it, and defend it to death – all without actual thought. It’s almost like a game.
So when you described the “cave man” guy not having any idea how it’s supposed to work for women in his weird head cannon of the world, that didn’t surprise me at all. Zero thought, only gut feelings and random words to defend it lol
I think having a positive impact on your community is a pretty basic human need. However, I don’t think this need must be met in the capitalist workplace. Personally, having work that I feel is a net positive for society is the only thing that gets me through days where it feels fucking pointless to do anything. It doesn’t change the fact that I fully realize capitalism is what makes this job less beneficial than it otherwise could be, and also what makes it suck day to day. So no, you don’t just need to find meaningful work for things to be totally kosher, but it can certainly be what stops you from unaliving yourself when the grind is grinding you to paste.
Your many hobbies and interests are forms of work in this context, just not paid work.
If nobody found meaning in making/selling furniture or electronics or door knobs, we probably wouldn’t have as much choice in these things. A lot of people take a personal pride at being good within their field, even if it isn’t massive impact.
Consider the British version of the office. The character of Ricky Gervais would be a genuinely better person if he cared more about the effects of his business on those of his customers.
I always ask those people if they would work for free, I’ve never gotten anyone to say yes. Then I ask them what activities are they willing to pay to participate in, And they never respond with their job.
Professional athletes and rock stars are pretty much the only people on the planet that get paid to do something they would do anyway.
I love my job but I hate the fact that I have to work for a living. Both can be true at the same time.
Wow, these pro-capitalist fools are also misogynists? Let me collect my shock and get back to you
I like my job but I hate the system… I am a scientist and I enjoy doing science, but at the same time I hate my company. Everything is doing in the name of profit.
In addition, doing the same thing for 40 hours a week is a torture for me. Just so boring! If I could decide, I would probably have multiple mini-jobs or a job with different tasks to get some variety in my life.
I also believe that doing something for money ruins it. I would never try to monetise my hobbies.
Yeah, there’s a whole lot of I’m Gonna Be Tim Ferriss (aka I’m An Entrepreneur – no, buddy, you’re a freelancer) guys in digital nomad culture (not even Tim Ferriss is especially Tim Ferrissy anymore), and I think a lot of the commentariat in that group aren’t actually digital nomads. And a lot of the ones who are are exploitation-oriented (they want the cheap cost of living and security-oriented women, they don’t want to pay local taxes).
As far as I can tell there’s not really a group for you and me. I work because I have to, I figured out a way to travel at the same time.
Meaningful work is a disgusting phrase unless in the context of homesteading. Money is meaningless and so is the work we do for it. I hate the cattle.
As someone who’s tried to find meaningful work, it has felt like a losing game. A lot of what humans find meaningful, there’s little to no money in. The number of people who are passionate about art and writing is totally disproportionate to the number of people who can make a living wage in those fields. What communities often truly need, no one will fund. Even nonprofit work is bizarrely competitive despite the low pay. They cut as many corners as possible, but will spend huge sums of money to union bust. I’ve had several jobs that should have been meaningful, for example I became a peer counselor because I wanted to support people through their mental health struggles. The working conditions and management were terrible and I was angry at my boss every day. The organizational issues ruined the work itself.
“Meaningful work” my ass. Work is work, get what you need to do done, get paid, and live your life. These fools come up with so much brain-dead brainrot justifications for their corporate bootlicking, it’s insulting
All jobs are shit and I resent every moment I waste of my life doing them.
Opinions of others don’t mean sh****t live your life how you want to
IMO, meaningful work is something you would still do even if you weren’t being paid to do it. For me, meaningful work is making beautiful art and music. If I sell an album, that’s a bonus, but I still enjoy and take pride in my work even if I’m not being paid.
The idea is that it’s good for you and society to be engaged in community building work. One where you are respected paid accordingly and you can measure your work by the good it does in the world around you. If understand not wanting to work. But imagine if you liked what you did and you didn’t wake up with a gun in your mouth because you wanted to do whatever it is you get paid for
These are all rich kids who have never had to face adversity. They’re the worst of humanity.
There are a lot of speeches about this. Most of them are by people that already have their basic needs taken care of, or have a very strong safety net.