It’s Worth It

I recently became a dad (hence the big lapse in posting). It’s really amazing! I knew that I wanted to write my next post around this fact, but until now, I had not quite thought of how to keep it in theme with my usual topics.

Pre-baby, all the dads I know had a very similar thought to convey to me, “It’s a lot of work, but it’s totally worth it.” Now that my son is out and kicking, it really is worth it, despite the short sleep schedule other “joys” of baby-rearing.

In business, and your career, worth is a really interesting concept that comes into play in so many different areas. Your company assigns you a worth, via your compensation and title. In return, what you do should hopefully provide you with a level of self-worth as well as the worth that your output contributes to your company and its goals.

So, is it worth it? And did you know it would, or wouldn’t be before you did it?

Is the compensation and recognition you’re getting worth it?

Is the work you’re doing worth the effort you’re putting towards it? For you? For your company/clients?

Maybe the notion that these questions are meant to convey is a little rudimentary, but I think it’s important to keep these things in mind. Maybe not for the things you have done or are doing, but for the the things that present themselves to you in the future. At some level, we’ve already calibrated our worth-o-meters in some way, but it can’t hurt to introspect a little on that calibration and see how much initial thought we’ve really put toward them, or if things in the calibration equation have changed for you.

Lastly, if during your self reflection on this matter, some things aren’t exactly living up to the value you would have hoped for, the most important question you should ask yourself is, “what can I do to make it worth it?”