We feel a sense of purpose inside and outside of work, when we are busy with a task or an activity that has real meaning for us. When we experience pleasure, we feel a rush of positive feelings or a deeper sense of satisfaction and happiness. But one without the other is hardly enough to bring about success in the long term.
Purpose without pleasure is being busy with an activity you are tasked with but don't really enjoy doing. In other words, it is out of a sense of responsibility(责任). And there isn't anything wrong with that in the short term. Trying to live this way of life without feeling some pleasure or achievement along the way can lead to final tiredness.
What is clear pleasure without purpose—party time? Enjoying an event without thinking about its meaning? A life focused only on pleasure without purpose would almost certainly leave you feeling pointless and finally dissatisfied with it all.
From time to time, it's worth reviewing where you are with your work in the matter of your purpose-pleasure balance. There may be times during your career when you have purpose without pleasure, and when you spend much more time working on something you consider important but just don't enjoy. If that is the case, it is important to have a rest and make sure you can connect the key point of work with certain activities that just make you feel happy.
If you feel bored with work, discuss with your group members how you might have more fun. You might build enjoyable short activities into the working day. Or think again about whether there is a deeper level of satisfaction or pride you get from your work, even when something is not as naturally enjoyable as you do.
There's a story about the cleaner at NASA(美国国家航空航天局) who when asked what he was doing said"I'm helping put a man on the moon"! Of course, he may not have been getting any pleasure from cleaning the floor again and again, and relating it to the mission(太空飞行任务) was the only way to accept it.
If it seems that you don't have a purpose, you could think about how what you are doing influences others or makes a small but important contribution to achieving the goals of your whole team.
As I say, purpose and pleasure are closely related. It is possible to have one without the other, but it is only having both that will be conducive to our happiness or progression. Therefore, it's quite necessary for us to occasionally check and review our purpose-pleasure agreement, and lake action.
