Hard work is devotion. Say it out loud, “I devote myself.” Is it true? What, in your life, is worth that kind of commitment? Devotion to one’s work implies a recognition of its nobility and dignity, and is sourced from two places: the telos of the work, and the simple pleasure of toil.
I don’t drop a word like telos into a blog post without some hesitation. Telos is a weighty term, rich with philosophical significance. It originates from the Greek word for end or purpose — the aim toward which something is inherently and irrevocably directed. To invoke telos is to suggest that something — an organization, a life — is not simply drifting but travelling intentionally toward a defined and meaningful outcome. That outcome is not just about progress; it’s about alignment.
Walter Ciszek once said, “I could see my work as meaningless toil, as slave labor imposed on me by a heartless system—or I could … turn it into an act of love.” That’s the treasure harvested from toil. The effort has dignity even if the work does not. In Ciszek’s case, he was speaking of forced labor during his 23 years in the Soviet prisons and the Siberian Guglag.
Not all work is oriented toward the true, good or beautiful, but if we direct our labor toward these transcendentals, then we orient ourselves towards them. This creates integrity between the work and the self; the telos becomes real.
This is the universal mission:
Recognize the privilege and dignity of work.
Live in devotion to that work through unbridled energy.
Remember that the treasure is in the toil.
