Over the past few years I have made it a point to ask people whether they enjoy their work and I am often amazed at their responses. Some people love their work even with antisocial hours, less than ideal working conditions and average pay, whereas others who work office hours, have great conditions and in my eyes are very well paid can’t wait to find something better or are simply waiting for retirement, even though it may be 20 years away.

I personally love my work. Over the years I have worked in all aspects of the business and have managed to find interest and enjoyment in everything from dairying, truck driving, making cheese, sales and marketing, packing milk and yoghurt and pastured eggs. I did struggle a little however sitting in an office and managing people, the role I was expected to take on. These were the tasks it took me longest from which to extricate myself. I am fortunate in that these jobs have now been delegated to others who enjoy doing them which in turn frees me up to concentrate on the things I have a passion for like biodynamic farming, research and education.

The happiest and most fulfilled people seem to have a passion for their work and good pay and conditions are simply a bonus. To others, work is simply drudgery: an empty and meaningless process of putting in the minimum effort to achieve their negotiated wage or salary whilst remaining under the radar. Most of us spend an enormous amount of life at work, it seems a shame to not use this time to creatively grow as a human being.

I do not believe we were put on this earth to simply idle our days away while waiting for weekends, holidays or retirement. The challenges of work, the discomfort of not quite knowing what is ahead should stimulate a creative flow from within that helps in all aspects of our lives. That uncomfortable icky feeling of not having the right answer makes us dig deeper into our psyche, encourages team work, lateral thinking and deep contemplation – all of which are great skills to have.

The feeling of a job well done makes our lives more meaningful, an important part of our complex, modern lives.