"It is one of the strange ironies of this life that those who work the hardest, who subject themselves to the strictest discipline, who give up certain pleasurable things in order to achieve a goal, are the happiest people." - Brutus Hamilton. Work, in fact, is truly one of life's biggest ironies. Each man's attitude determines how he responds to his job. One man's poor attitude and laziness causes him to view work as a painful necessity to getting by in life. On the other hand, another man's positive attitude, strong work ethic, and pride allow him to find joy and purpose in his occupation. Therefore the fact that one mans work is another mans complete and utter pleasure is a dichotomy in itself. This shows that one's outlook on work is all in the eyes of the beholder. This phenomenon has had people of all ages and in all stages of life shrugging their shoulders in disarray and confusion as to what they "want" to do versus the "work" that they have to do to scrape by. Is there a way to have both? A way to seek joy and gratification through ones "work?" Indeed there is. But therein lies the true problem, people want to enjoy a successful and fulfilling job but don't want to "work" hard to get there, they watch time go by being unmotivated and lazy, then later ask themselves, "How did I get here." There are so many inherently good qualities found in and around work, people just don't take the time to find them, therefore one's outlook is the result of false preconceptions concerning "work.".
False preconceptions bring about ninety percent of people to the same conclusions when regarding work. It stinks, they hate it, or they would rather live out their worst nightmares than get a job. This is where outlook becomes such a key factor in how a person views and reacts to their work. Characters throughout the essays read in class had many of the same ideas and thoughts; many asked themselves, "Why am I working in my current job?"(Sample Essay #2) or "I wonder why I have stayed with my current employer for so long?"(Sample Essay #2) It is true that everyone is entitled to have their own complaints or gripes concerning their occupations.
