While parents love and provide for their children’s needs through to adulthood, there will come a time when most young men and women will have to begin providing for themselves. This can be an exciting and trying time for everyone involved in this transition. Especially the young single person who wants to prove that he or she can make it on their own. Getting a job and sustaining one’s self is a mark of reaching adulthood and becoming independent. This is the same for most young men and women. Unless, they get married upon leaving the parent’s home and only one of them works and the other stays home. You can be sure that the homemaker will be working many hours to meet the needs and of the family. This is part of why we must work.

Meeting Our Needs

It would be nice for everyone to grow up and enjoy life without the need to work. Unfortunately, in today’s economy it typically takes two incomes to provide financial security for a family. As long there have been humans, we have worked and traded the fruits of our labor to meet our needs. In modern times, with few exceptions, most adults must work in order to provide for their needs, wants and desires. Our most basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing come at a cost. They have to be paid for with money earned through some form of employment. Even for those who choose live off the land, there will always be needs requiring some form of payment.

There are other reasons to work outside of providing for your basic needs. There are Many people who are financially independent and do not have to work. However, you will find that most of them work every day and in many cases put in more than a forty-hour work week. They do not work for the need of money, they work to remain active and do something that they truly enjoy.

Working for Need, Wants, and “Stuff”

Why then do we work? We work to earn money to satisfy our physical needs, our wants and our desires. Everyone needs food, shelter and clothing. Once we meet those needs, there are other desires to fulfill such as vacations, transportation, eating out, larger homes, having children and of course the acquisition of more stuff.

People who are financially independent work to satisfy their emotional needs to provide value to their companies, communities or other areas of interest. Sometimes they teach and lead others or use their talents to make something better. They desire to fill their time with meaningful work. They are excited and passionate about the work they do. When it is not about the money, doing what you love is mostly about self-satisfaction.

Regardless of your financial status, having a job contributes greatly to your self-esteem. When someone asks “What do you do? ” you are able to answer with a smile describing the work that you do. It does not matter the type of work nor the income. It only matters that you are employed and providing a service or benefit in exchange for some income.

Working should be an effort that brings you both income and satisfaction. The goal for everyone who works should be to do work that you love with people whom you enjoy working with. If you are able to do what you love and make a living at it long enough you will likely find yourself financially secure.

Reason You Should Work “The Golden Years”

People also work to prepare for retirement. When I was growing up, I thought of retirement as a time when people stopped working and enjoyed doing nothing for the rest of their lives. That is not how I see retirement today. Retirement is a time when you should be financially prepared to do the things you have always dreamed about. Things such as traveling the world, helping others, and spoiling your grandchildren. It is a time when you should be able to choose when and where you spend your time and money without obligations or fear. It should be a time when you are able to enjoy life without worries or concerns about finances or giving your time to someone other than to those whom you wish.

Everyone who is able will do some form of work during their lifetime. Working is how we provide value to the world and receive our due rewards. Not everyone will find or even pursue their passion. However, no matter the work you do, the day of reaping the fruits of your labor is always a cause for celebration. I believe other than needing to meet our physical needs, It is for self-satisfaction and the long term rewards that we work.