Pleasure Makes Perfect

We just celebrated Labor Day here in the United States. And for many, it was something of a timestamp – a long weekend signalling the last hurrah of summer.

My kids are filled with a mixture of joy and dread as they head back to school. (Mostly dread for my teenager).

As humans, we're programmed to want the fun to last, to be put off by encroaching responsibilities.

But what if you actually had fun doing what you do? What if your job brought you sheer joy?

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work."

– Aristotle [Tweet this quote]

"Sure, that's easy for you to say, Aristotle," you say. "You stayed in school until you were 37. All you had to do was listen to Plato all day long."

Well, that's kind of the point. He loved that. So much so that Aristotle went on, with Plato to be considered one of the fathers of Western philosophy.

We don't all have the chance to be Aristotle. But we do have the opportunity to take joy in our work. Or pick a line of work that brings us more pleasure than pain.

Then when you return from a long weekend, you'll embrace Monday and everything about your profession.

Image credit: School of Athens by Raphael, 1510. Fresco, Vatican City (Wikimedia Commons)