1. Those three things - autonomy, complexity and a connection between effort and reward - are, most people agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying. .
2. Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have any meaning. Once it does, it becomes the kind of thing that makes you grab your wife around the waist and do a jig.
3. If you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind, you can shape the world to your desires.
- Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers
The Bible stresses the importance of a Sabbath. A day of solemn rest every week. A whole day! It also talks about Sabbaticals - six years of labour, followed by a year of rest for the land and the people. Considering the longevity of the modern human life span, a sabbatical wouldn't be a bad idea. Every seven years, I'd like to shift my focus for a whole year. Take time out, move to a different continent and work as a volunteer, travel. The choices are endless. I believe six years of hard labour and saving would be sufficient to pay the expenses of the seventh year. Choosing to do something different, or even resting would make the following seven years even more meaningful and productive.
If work is something you do until you die, it's wise to choose a passion, something you would love to do daily. Discipline applied to passions should get you through those hard days when work feels a lot like... work!
Rest, too, requires discipline. The difficulty with our society is disengaging. Try it for even a day a week and you'll notice the strong pull of habit back to routine.