We need to find a way to compensate ourselves otherwise

There are certain things in life which are often appreciated, but rarely rewarded.

Take a trait like ambition.

Who doesn’t appreciate the strong desire to achieve through hard work? Having someone on the team who is willing to go the extra mile to get tasks right, what a blessing.

There’s just no money it. Nobody gets a bump in salary because they kept their head down, stayed at the office late every night and outperformed their peers. It’s nice story we’re told when we’re young, and movies and television make ambition look aspirational.

But I often wonder if the harder we work, the more invisible we become in the workplace. Even if we’re lucky enough to be recognized, the reward for good work is typically more work, not more money.

It’s funny, I read this recent study that surveyed a thousand adults, and sixty seven percent of them claimed hard work was very important to them. But back in the late nineties, the same survey from the same researchers reported the number to be a whopping eighty three percent.

Perhaps the value of ambition isn’t what it used to be. People have started to realize that our nations cherished puritanical myth of hard work isn’t what it used to be, and they’re adjusting accordingly.

I’ve been ambitious my entire life, and one lesson I’ve learned is that ambition can gross people out. It triggers resentment. People perceive us as holding a big candle to their face, just so their darkness looks more pitch black in comparison.

But it’s all just a projection. People are seeing in us what is not operating well within them.

Now the question becomes, how do we respond to this cold reality of life? Do we get pissed at the world for ignoring our efforts?

When it comes to our ambition, efficiency and generosity, we take responsibility for our intentions and actions, and let go of the rest. Whatever happens, happens.

If hard work doesn’t earn us more money, then we need to find a way to compensate ourselves otherwise. Perhaps with the experience, the learning and the growth. Or at the very least, the knowledge that we can work hard when we need to, which is a valuable survival skill.

Same goes for efficiency. If we finish all of our tasks by lunch, and nobody on the team rewards us for that effort, fine. Then we compensate ourselves otherwise. We take a phycological salary bump in the form of pride, meaning making, and fulfillment.

How are you navigating the appreciation without compensation paradox?