6 Opportunities Work Gives Us Apart From Making Money

While it is unhealthy to build your worth around your work, having something doing is a thing to be grateful for. It reminds me of how uneasy one feels when they've got nothing doing. I've been there. Obviously, there is something about working.

I believe work gives us a lot of opportunities. For some, it is about having a source of income. That is cool. We all need money, and getting a job, business, and all, are ways of having it. But apart from the money, there are other things, too.

1. Finding expression

We are all bundles of gifts and abilities, strengths and passions. They cry for expression. For most people, work or whatever they do, is more of a pursuit to release what's in them than even crave for money. In many ways, I believe the frustration of not being able to find something to do stings more with the feeling of lacking opportunity to pull out what one has inside. For many, it hurts more when those abilities daily cannot find expression and use.

2. Reaching out

Another way we can look at work is through the opportunity it presents us to step out of our self and be a blessing to others. This seems more obvious for those in the service sectors, and those who are dealing directly with people in whatever they do. But it can also be true even for those who are locked up in offices, labs, and other places where they are not seeing. Depending on what one does, work can let us serve others, our world and society, and help make things better and easier for people.

3. Growth

It is often said that practice makes perfect. This is how work helps improve us. If one is given to what they do, growth is inevitable. By constantly doing something, you learn how to and how not to do it. But apart from the exact thing we do, we also get many opportunities to learn different things that our work brings to us or brings us to. We learn life. We learn relationship. We learn leadership, discipline, management, etc. These are all opportunities to grow. And with more responsibilities, we improve our capacity.

4. Networking

The world is a web of people. We all have need for each other and that's the way it is meant to be. We cannot live, not to say succeed, alone. We need others, and work can be such a great opportunity to connect with people, build relationships that will be useful for a season or our entire life, and collaborate to make things happen. For those that are working for other people now and may not seem comfortable with it, you can use this time to build meaningful relationships that will help you start out on your own when you finally decide to. So it's still not all bad.

5. Transcending time

How could it be that we still remember the likes of the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, and all? It's easy to say because they were inventors. But a simple way of looking at it is that it's because of what they were doing when they lived. You may not be an inventor, but you can contribute to life in a manner that transcends your age. Some people that will live when you are gone may benefit directly or indirectly from what you were engaged in. This is a beautiful way to look at work.

6. Making a difference

There’s no way to change the world doing nothing. The opportunity to work at something is also the chance to make a difference in that area. Most times the place of our calling also has in it the thing that most dissatisfies us. Then it makes room for us to correct that thing, or contribute to its correction.

Maya Angelou once said, “Nothing will work unless you do.” I just want to challenge your view of work today. Passivity is not an option. Get doing something. There are a million and one reasons you should, I have only attempted six. It first doesn't matter what it is, find something doing. Do it well. Give life an opportunity to bless you, as you give yourself an opportunity to prosper.