“Work is not hard because it is work —
but because it has been disconnected from joy.”
For most people, work is something
to get through.
Tasks.
Deadlines.
Obligations.
Expectations.
As if work were a necessary evil —
something to endure
so that life can begin afterwards.
But work did not originate this way.
Not as coercion.
Not as survival mode.
But as creation.
Once upon a time, work meant
taking part in shaping the world.
Contributing.
Seeing the meaning in what one does.
Joy was not a reward.
It was a natural side effect.
The disconnection began
when work lost touch with its impact.
When people could no longer see
who they were helping,
what they were building,
what they were contributing to.
When the purpose of work
shifted from creation
to output.
In the perspective of the Human Growth Model,
joy is not a luxury.
Not a motivational tool.
Not an “extra”.
Joy is feedback.
It signals that a person is in alignment
with what they are doing.
It does not mean
there is no fatigue.
No difficulty.
No responsibility.
It means that the energy invested
does not leak away meaninglessly.
There was a time when I also believed
that work was only serious
if it was heavy.
If it was strenuous.
If it was tense.
And when joy appeared,
I became suspicious —
as if something must be wrong.
But that was precisely when it was right.
Joy is not the opposite of performance.
It is the sign that performance is not born of fear.
When someone enjoys what they do,
they do not work less.
They are present in it.
They pay attention.
They connect.
They take responsibility.
And paradoxically,
this is when the most value is created.
The work of the future will not be easier.
But it will be more alive.
It will not require less effort,
but less self-denial.
Change begins
when we allow ourselves the question:
What if work did not drain life —
but were part of it?
Not as a reward.
Not as an exception.
But as a natural state. ❤️