Afterthought

Why do we work hard?

That's a big question. And the answer may differ from one individual to another. But I bet most of the reasons would be "for the family." 

As fresh graduates we aim to land a job in a multinational company where we'd do our darnedest to establish our place in the corporate world. We work doubly hard because we've been eyeing for a particular position in the company. Of course most of us would like to be promoted. Generally, people are inclined to think that the way to happiness is to study hard, work harder, be promoted, and retire rich. Being employees our regular working hours is around 8 hours. We go to work, have our lunch, work again, have our merienda (snacks), work again till 5pm. or if you're "too lucky" you get to go overtime without extra pay. How boring can that be? On the other hand, some employees aim to be self employed and retire early from the corporate world to be their own boss. What motivates them to do this? Still...family! These people long for time to be with their loved ones. They are not contented with just being able to use their weekends. long weekends, vacation leaves, Christmas and other legal holidays to be with their spouse and kids. And yet, once the former employee becomes a business owner, they are still faced with the same problem ... time. Time to be with the family, time to do what they have always wanted to do. As employees we think that being our own boss would mean having more spare time for ourselves. But boy are we wrong! Having our own business entails us to spend more time on the phone talking to our clients, our suppliers, doing more leg work, making sure our service or the goods we deliver are up to par. Then we realize we are not our own boss, but we've become our own slave. 

If you feel that you are better where you are at or feel that you would not want to move an inch more from where you are standing, then that is happiness for you. But what about your other possibilities? Have you ever thought about it?