Of late my obsession has been work ethic, I say of
late because I tend to bore easily and move on quite fast but this whole work
ethic thing has had me longer than the usual. I just love it when an individual,
especially me, puts in a serious shift to produce great work. This great work
should not be motivated by the payday that proceeds/precedes it or the watchful
eye of someone over ones shoulder but must be produce regardless of the two.
Whether alone or being watched, whether the person receives a lot of money or
none at all, whether the job is being done for yourself or someone else, the aim
must be to produce great work. Which brings me to my tittle
It is the desire of most of the young people to climb up the
financial ladder of society, get that big job at the firm that is top of the
food chain and earn a living. The way to do this in the eyes of most is to get
all the degrees that you can or get all the A pluses that you can so that you
can be picked ahead of the next guy. This is a decent thing to aim for but
there is more to the story than just this. I believe that in order for true
happiness in ones work the aim should be great work because all follows that. Great
work comes as a result of loving what you do the point of constantly trying to
improve or better the product. I’m talking about passion. But let me break down
passion and ambition for a bit
Ambition is the need/hunger to rise or achieve, my own
definition. It is the drive that pushes us to that goal that we fight for.
Problem is with a lot of ambition a lot of people do not care how they get
there they just want to get there. So if it means breaking the law, taking
shortcuts, bringing others down so you can rise, people would be willing to do
it. Picture three hungry guys running towards a plate of chicken on a table. At
first they will run for it alone but as one notices the other going ahead of
him he will use all the tactics he can to stop the other guys from getting there
before him. This picture is the story of ambition, it’s not a nice
picture
The picture of passion is a better one. Picture a sculptor
trying to get the image in his head out onto stone to turn it into a statue.
You can see him painstakingly going over details that others would think are
mundane and yet the level of work put in on that part is as much as on the more
prominent features. You can see him sanding and chiseling, cutting and wiping,
clearing up his work area so that he can see his work better. You see diligence
you see love for the work, you see passion. Passion is what causes the person
doing the work to go above and beyond. I think that passion comes as a result
of you appreciating that your work is something that will being delight to
someone else and you knowing that your work speaks for you. No one in their
right mind wants shoddy work speaking for them.
Combining the two works like this. Ambition is the drive to
reach higher and get more but that ambition should be driven by passion, driven
by a love for the work. It is only a love for the work that will allow you to
produce something that will cause you to step back once you are done and much
like God himself say it is good. Having passion tied with ambition causes you
to constantly think of how you can make the work better and better even when
you have not been asked to. You want to make the best out of everything because
you want to the work to be fantastic.
But what’s wrong with just being ambitious? It is a widely
known fact that African politics is quite corrupt. One of the reasons for this
in my opinion is that people get into it for the sake of their ambition. They
want to earn that money or get that name, problem is because for most of them
the ambition is not linked with passion, when the opportunity arises in which
only they benefit they grasp that. Passion for the work leads you to do the job
right, no weird shortcuts because it is easy or it makes you get what you want
fast. Passion for the work causes you to think of your work as a reflection of
you and most sane people want the reflection of themselves that people see to
be good when looked at through a tele or microscope
How does this apply to none artistic work. It’s easy to
think this only applies to the art student or the architect, maybe even the
engineer but it doesn’t end there. A computer programmer should have the drive
to go above and beyond what is asked for. Do the best you can while you can and
then some, that should be the goal. The doctor must work with diligence even
though he/she is tired or the situation before them looks small and
insignificant. The gardener must think of how to make his work look better and
produce more than asked for because he wishes to also be delighted in his work.
The lecturer should look to trigger interest and love for the course through
his instruction not just maintain the usual monotonous approach the lecturing.
The engineer must look to improve the process of whatever he is called to do,
making the work more efficient, take less time and look really good.
Tons of examples can be given in relation to this but the
best part about all this is that diligence in the work is appreciated by all.
When you do that fantastic job that you can really be proud of without cutting
the corners just for ambition sake you begin to garner respect for the work
that you do. In the long run an application of passion with ambition is very
good for you. Im not saying it is guaranteed success, no one can assure you of
that, but you will be happy with your work, that I guarantee.
What about if I did not want to do what I am doing now, what should become of this passion?
There are two options for this. One, quit. Go to what you want to do but keep
in mind that you must be sure of that step, a lot of people use this as an
excuse to run away from what they think/say is hard. Run from that lazy
approach and put in a serious shift, a diligent shift. Option two, apply
yourself more and more into what you are doing, you producing good work should
not be limited by love for what you are doing. You should be passionate about
doing good work not passionate about your ambition, there is a difference.
Lastly we must always seek to fully apply ourselves in all
that we are doing. Be it washing the dishes, cooking, cleaning your room,
writing notes, working, etc. Always apply yourself with a passion for the work
being done. In the long run such application will benefit not just you but
those around you as well
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