The Joys Of Having A Job (Video)

The Joys Of Having A Job? Yes, it’s possible. 

I never thought I would say this: I love having a job. 

This is especially in comparison to how I thought just a few years ago — when I considered the idea of a job felt like prison to me.  

I used to be convinced that living in a city with a steady office job was the absolute worst thing that could happen to me. I heard and saw people rant about their “soul-sucking” jobs and I was determined to avoid that fate. I was afraid of being crushed by the machine, but I was also thoroughly convinced: there must be another way to live! Surely, the best in human ingenuity does not end with spending 261 days a year in an office for the next 40 years. 

After graduating university, I set out to find answers at the same time that I had to figure how I would survive in this world. 

Determined to prove the “machine” wrong, I learned how to build a life and career where I could travel and work on the road.  I had a glorious several years, spending time throughout Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa and USA as I worked from my laptop.  During that time, however, my content circled around inviting people to live a “better life”, a life filled with passion and purpose. Unfortunately, my tone was sometimes condescending, as if people didn't know what you’re doing.  At that time I didn’t know how else to communicate it. I knew that there was seed of truth my youthful pursuit of freedom, but I also knew that I had some growing up to do. 

Through these years of work and growth, I’ve learned to exchange my dream world for this real world of grit and grace, sacrifice and choice, freedom and destiny. I’ve had to let go of my adolescent judgements, in order to navigate wisely, live with integrity and let people correct me when I’m off. 

I’ve come a long way in my thinking. 

Today I find myself in the city of Toronto, working in two jobs that I love. They both their unique challenges, but I love going to work.  I know you may not have jobs like mine, I do believe that every job has gold in it, if you are willing to look for it. 

When I first landed these jobs, I had the sense that God was purposely giving them to me to heal my warped beliefs about jobs. No matter how hard it gets at your jobs (yes, I have my tough days too), it does the soul good to keep things in perspective. 

Here are some of the blessings I’ve found with having a job. Even if they don’t all apply to you, I encourage you to come up with your own “Joys Of My Job” list. I’m positive you’ll think of gems that you didn’t even consider before. 

7 Good Things About Having A Job:

1) You get paid to get work experience.

Do you remember the days when you were a student and the idea of working at a firm felt like you won the lottery? When you felt lucky to be the intern? Especially in the creative fields, it’s common for people to do unpaid internships. To get the place where someone is paying you to do anything is already an accomplishment!

2) Hang on, you get paid! (!!)

 There are many people in the world who would die to be paid the kind of money that people in the first world make. If you are making money in the first world, especially if you’re working full time, you will make more money this year than many people will make in their whole lifetime. Half the world’s population still lives on less than $1 a day.  One of the most precious gifts of travel is perspective. I never want to forget how blessed I am to be Canadian.

3) You have the space to learn.

You have physical space to work, mental space to grow your intellect and soul space to grow in self-awareness. When I was a budding entrepreneur, I used to run myself into the ground with my attempts to complete income-producing tasks. I felt like I always had to be working because my income (and my self-esteem) depended on in. One of the biggest blessings of having a job is the feeling that I don’t have to figure it all out right now. I’m still going to have money to buy groceries. I can pause when needed and think through better strategies.  

4) You have a place to practice your craft.

Even if you’re not working in your ideal role yet, there are still opportunities to practice skills and develop qualities that will help you get where you want to do. If you are working in your chosen field, then practice away! Take every opportunity to get better at what you do. Learn a new program. Push the boundaries of your abilities. When you were in school, you had to pay someone to make you learn. Now you get paid to learn! 

5) You get to learn how to work with people.

No matter what you do in life, working with people is an essential skills. There are plenty of soft skills for us to practice at work like emotional intelligence, communications and leadership. If you find yourself working with difficult people, consider it a blessing! It’s easy to work with cooperative people. It takes a skilled leader to work challenging people. As a former solo entrepreneur, I’m enjoying learning how to work with a team! 

6) You can mess up.

What’s the absolute worse that could happen? You have to get another job. Or you go back to school and change careers. North American culture is so performance-driven that we sometimes forget that there is space in life to mess up and grow. It doesn’t mean that I deliberately mess up, but it does mean that I allow myself and my team space and grace to grow step by step.

7) You are valuable.

You are chosen. Someone saw something in you and felt that you would be a great addition to the team. They are giving you money because they believe you are worth it and they want to support you. A note about income: There was a time where I found myself commenting often that I don’t make as much as I should. Then I felt convicted. My complaining wasn’t honouring myself, my workplace or the money that God decided was right for me right now. I now trust that God will provide for me and my skills according to his plan, and it’s not necessary for me to comment or complain about. 

Yes, there are plenty of joys to being an entrepreneur, but there are also many upsides to being an employees. Contrast is the spice of the life and the ingredient for growth. Lean into whatever situation you find yourself into. Don’t get sucked into a complaining mentality. I’ve found that I appreciate working in a job a lot more because I had that season of being an burnt out entrepreneur and solo creator. I still carry my entrepreneurial spirit within me and now I get to channel it into my job. 

I’m grateful that I get to do work I love!  

I’d love to hear from you! What other advantages are there to having a job? What’s your favourite thing about your job? Please feel free to comment below!