I'm grateful for Work.

There are so many benefits from hard work. Depending on what you are working for, the benefits are different. But overall, anytime we work, we get something out of it. We learn, we grow, we are strengthened and stretched and pushed to new limits. We become greater and stronger and better. I think of the times in life when I really work hard for something and how rewarding it was to finally reach my goal, or finish my project. It always feels good.

I love working hard physically and getting dirty and sweaty and feeling the ache of hard worked muscles. I played basketball in High School and I hated conditioning. I didn't like the workouts...and even more, I didn't like the aches and pains that came with them. But after a few days of lifting or running, the ache faded away and my body felt stronger. Studying was also something I didn't love doing. But how awesome it felt when I learned something new or solved a problem I previously didn't understand. I felt smarter and more capable of doing hard things. Each time I work I feel more in control of myself and my life. I'm grateful for the body I have been given and the many wonderful things it allows me to do. There are a lot of things I'm not very good at, but I'm grateful for the chance I have to work each day and learn from my own personal experience and hard work.

I think the greatest reward of work is not what we get from it, but what we become from it. The harder we work the more we forget about ourselves and focus on the people and world around us. I believe hard work is one of the greatest ways we find happiness because as we improve upon ourselves we are more self-reliant, more disciplined, better prepared to solve problems and have the ability to help and strengthen others. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf once said,

"Work is an antidote for anxiety, and ointment for sorrow, and a doorway to possibility." 

He also shared a really cool experience he had with the blessings of work.

I'm grateful for the work I've been given and the many ways it blesses my life, involves me with people and pushes me to try something new.