A lot of people quit looking for work as soon as they find a job – Zig Ziglar
It is interesting to note that work and job may not actually mean the same thing. There might be some distinctions between the two that we have not seen before. That thought came about when I was reading that Zig Ziglar quotation. So, I studied further, making research and listening to notable people who has something to say about the issue. This is what I found out.
Your job is what you are paid to do whether you love doing it or not. Your work is what you would do even without getting paid because you love doing it. In other words, you tend not to do your job if you will not be paid for it. In contrast, your work is connected with your calling or what others say, your purpose in life. So, you love doing it even without compensation or recognition for the rest of your life.
A lot of people have jobs but they do it only for the money. Then they use the money they earned from their jobs to do the things they love doing. They drag themselves going to their jobs while thinking of the things they love to do when they go out of the office. I believe it was Confucius who said that you should “choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Your job is based on what skill or knowledge you acquire throughout your life. For some, their job and calling are intertwined that is why they love what they are doing. For others, they are reporting to a boss to do a job just to earn a living but their hearts and mind want to do something else. To make it amusing and your job less stressful, Oscar Wilde has something to say and it goes this way, “the best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one”.
Your job is temporary. Job refers to a specific role that you have to fulfill whether you like it or not. While work refers to activities that may or may not be measured but contributes to your goals and aspirations or those things that you want. In work, there is fulfillment. In job, there may not be a sense of fulfillment. You are just doing a job. And all you want to do is get paid. Simon Sinek, one of the famous motivational speakers of our day put it this way, If you say your job is something you don’t plan on doing forever, then why are you doing it now?”
Let us therefore encourage ourselves not to be contented with just having a job. Let us discover what we love doing or that which find fulfillment or that which we are passionate on doing. That is where we would be happy. That is where we can contribute to the betterment of our family and our respective communities.
