P: We work enthusiastically when we are young, but there are times when we suddenly feel bored with the work we do. We go to work habitually, so sometimes we feel apathetic and feel that life is dull. At such times, we need to ponder about ways to obtain energy and enjoyment from our jobs.
There are two ways for people to become happy. One way is by doing work that they enjoy. However, although this may be fun, it may feel meaningless when they look back on it later on. For example, drinking and hanging out every day with your friends may have been a lot of fun, but when you look back on it in 10 years you will feel like you wasted your time. When you go to a bar, you have a great time, talking loudly and laughing hard, but when you leave the bar, you feel kind of empty. You may feel that way because there are no benefits to spending your time on such pursuits. When you focus too much on having fun in life, you fall into the danger of feeling empty and regretful later on.
Another way is helping others. As human beings, we feel happy when we are useful to others or do something beneficial for others. Although doing something that helped others may have been very hard at the time, when we look back on it, we feel proud. We feel that what we did was meaningful and beneficial, so we believe we did the right thing even if it took a lot of effort.
Most people feel that pleasure of life only comes from having fun. However, when people only focus on having fun, they will inevitably end up feeling regretful and empty later on. On the other hand, if we focus too much on finding meaning in life, we are likely to feel stressed and exhausted and end up feeling that life is hard. It is best to balance these two appropriately, so that helping others becomes equivalent to having fun. Then, we will be in the most harmonious state. However, for most people, helping others and having fun are two very different things.
For instance, social activists do meaningful work, but they usually suffer from a lot of stress. Therefore, when they get exhausted and want to give up, they need to get some rest and pursue some of their own desires. They need to spend enough time fulfilling their own wishes. After that, they may get revitalized and, in time, regain their interest in social causes.
On the other hand, when those who have only focused their energy on their personal affairs feel a little weary, they may become reenergized when they volunteer their time for others and experience a greater meaning in their lives. They may come to feel that their existence means something in this world. In other words, it may be a good idea for those who are feeling empty from pursuing only fun and enjoyment in their lives to engage in some meaningful work. For example, they can volunteer their talents for those who need them or volunteer their time for work that is very different from what they have been doing all their lives. By doing so, they may be able to overcome their weariness or emptiness and become revitalized.
In my twenties, I used to fast whenever I was in a slump. I would shut myself in my bedroom and fast for a week. When a living organism starves, it feels a strong desire to live, an instinct which I think helped me become mentally reenergized. When your work feels dull and you feel apathetic, doing something new that breaks your regular routine can help you revitalize your life.
To me, giving talks is a pleasurable pastime. This is why work and play are the same for me. What would happen if I charged money for my talks? If my fee was 1 million won (1000 US dollars) per hour and I gave an hour-and-half talk, I should receive 1.5 million won. If I give talks for money and I receive less than what I expect, I would feel unhappy, which means that money would control my life. The reason I do not charge a fee for my talks is that when I don’t get paid, I can do them for my enjoyment. This is why I don’t get tired even when I give three to four talks on the same day. When we are doing something for fun, the more time we spend doing it, the better. From time to time, I do not accept certain requests to give talks. For instance, I don’t accept requests to give talks at broadcasting stations because each member of the audience gets paid 30,000 won to attend. While people who pay to listen to talks are very attentive, those who are paid to attend are distracted and get restless when the talk runs longer than scheduled. They may demand overtime pay since listening to the talk is a job for them. This kind of audience fails to take away anything positive from my talks. They pretend to be interested and take notes when the camera is pointed at them but they get distracted when the camera turns toward another direction. It is very hard to interact actively with such an audience.
Other types of talks I usually decline to do are special lectures held at military bases, government offices or large companies, where everyone is required to attend. Since the organizers of such lectures check attendance, people are forced to attend. Finally, refuse to do special lectures at schools. Once, when I held a talk at a university, I saw someone calling the roll of all the students. The students attended my talk as a requirement for a grade, not because they wanted to, so they were distracted and showed poor reaction.
The best audience for my talks are those who pay a fee to attend. Since, they come on their own volition and even pay a fee, they come ready to catch every word I say.
Therefore, our criterion for choosing a job shouldn’t be how much we get paid but what kind of contribution we can make. If the work itself is fun, work becomes play, so we don’t need to find something that will reenergize us outside of work.
