Whether it’s a 9-to-5 desk job or a home office, we all find reasons to trash what we do. But research now points to the fact that work makes you happy and being aimless can actually make our brains dull and us depressed! So why exactly is working good for us? Because it keeps our brains, bodies, and bank balances happy and active. As humans, we need to be in a state of busyness, or even business! Work gives us an opportunity to shine, to earn (be it money or goodwill) and to be happy with our achievements.
Don’t believe us? Here are ten reasons why you should be working right now, right after you finish reading this article!
10 Reasons To Love Your Work
- Keeps our brain active: By thinking through problems and working towards solutions, we keep our brains active and in good condition, just as working out does for our body. Work gives us mental exercise, as fitness does for our body.
- Gives us financial security: Most of us look forward to our paychecks each time – a wad of cash will make us happy, particularly if we earned it and more importantly, deserved it.
- Makes us innovate: The more problems we have, the more creative we need to get as a race to find solutions. So our work makes us happy by making us innovate and innovations create happiness. This is key to evolution as well.
- Makes us disciplined: What we do on holidays to relax is testing the boundaries of day-to-day living. Indulgent eating and a complete disregard for the clock – working makes us live our lives with a certain amount of discipline.
- Gives us a social life: We may not have the time to go around with our friends from childhood – school was a long time ago. Being at work makes you happy as it doubles up as our social network and every so often, love is waiting around that office corner as well!
- Makes us look forward to every day: Having something to do and going somewhere gives us a purpose, and purpose makes us get up from that bed every day, happily.
- Gives us a thrill: Work presents us with many a challenge. These challenges flood our body with adrenaline and solving that challenge gives a dopamine thrill – the more we achieve and strive, the happier we become. So basically, however boring work might be, in actuality, it is thrilling.
- Being busy is good for the soul: Aimlessness leads to thoughts of negativity and sometimes may even lead to depression – not being “useful” can generate plenty of negativity. Being busy takes our mind off our problems and keeps up the positive thinking instead.
- Teaches us to handle stress: One cannot avoid stress, simply because it is everywhere! So avoiding stress doesn’t work but the daily doses of work stress we face in turn teach our body and mind to work through the stressor successfully, thus de-stressing us in the process.
- Staves off getting “old”: Work makes you happy by keeping the mental faculties younger and can stave off any aimlessness or loneliness born from depression, particularly in advancing years. So while we yearn to retire when we are 30, it's a whole new ballgame at 60 – keeping yourself busy in your silver years will keep you young at heart and in mind!
So there you go. Be you a homemaker or in your silver years, or just someone planning to quit and start life afresh – make work an important part of your life for it adds to health, wealth, and happiness. On that note, here’s wishing you a productive day, week and life to come… And remember, no work is too small – do what makes you happy when it comes to your career.
