To Strive for Something is Worth It

Regarding life, I think we work very hard for most of our lives in order to attain a certain goal.  At least, we should.  We need something to strive for because without that, we have nothing.  Some people feel that work is fruitless and we should just have everything given to us.  How sad that is.  It is sad because people who feel that way are missing out on so much in life.  They are missing out on the sense of achievement that comes along with reaching your goal(s).  They are missing out on that feeling of pride that happens when you do something that everyone said you could never do.  This is not vanity, but pride that comes from achieving something.  They are missing out on meeting and working with others who have also achieved a difficult goal.  But most of all, they are missing out on life itself.

Life is not one big party.  Life is made up of many facets, one of which is work.  There is time for leisure, but there must also be work.  What a person works at is their own choice, at least here in the U.S.  Each person can choose what they wish to study and what they wish to do.  Yet, some people choose to do nothing.  They can choose to do nothing if they so desire; but, if they to do nothing, then they should also expect to receive nothing because nothing comes from nothing.

I have recently achieved one of my goals.  I worked for ten years in a city job and have now earned lifetime health coverage from the city.  This is huge.  I had worked other jobs before this, but this one came with the benefit of good health coverage.  The job was not a fun job, it was hectic at times.  I was in the payroll department, so there were constant deadlines to be met.  There were also delays that would happen at times, but the deadline still had to be met.  However, because I worked the ten years there, I did receive a very good benefit.  My reason for retiring was because my department was moving to a different location and the commute for me would be over two hours in each direction.  I had injured my knee a few months earlier and knew that I would not be able to do that commute.

Now that I’m retired from that job, am I ready to just stop everything?  No!  I still want to do something part-time or even get some temporary work.  I’m not stopping altogether yet, I’m not ready for that.  Life still goes on and people still continue to achieve for as long as they can.  At least, they should.