Workview/Lifeview Reflection

Workview Reflection

Society generally defines work in terms of profit. What labor is is something upon which a monetary value can be applied and something which benefits profit rather than something which necessarily benefits society at large. If I’m being completely honest, my own definition of work was pretty much this. It wasn’t until I got to college and realized that I wanted to be a writer and that that particular profession isn’t always very profitable and is generally considered worthless if you base your definition of “work” on profit. Furthermore, that definition excludes care work and emotional labor, usually regulated to women, and devalues it.

Rather, I think “work”, in the truest sense, is something that benefits the society at large. That allows for the inclusion of care work, artistic work, and emotional labor. While these forms of work may not be as profitable as others, they allow for greater personal development.

Lifeview Reflection

The most important thing in life is fulfillment. One does not always have to be happy. Positing that is both problematic and unhelpful, and I think one of our biggest societal issues is that we view the most important thing in life as happiness. Happiness is an emotion. It’s inherently fleeting.

But I think if you don’t feel fulfilled, you can never really self-actualize and form a stable identity. And if you don’t self-actualize and form a stable identity, then it’s really difficult to live a decent life.