I continually try to hone or refine the way I think about work.

I seconded this whole learn or earn thread:
https://world.hey.com/smitty/learn-or-earn-04c5fd4e

But I think it needs more explanation.

For sure one could simply think of a two dimensions where you are learning something or you earn well or you combine them. 

Not sure it is always that simple.

For me there are four things I think about:

Earning:

As I get older, and my kids age, I find life getting more expensive. Guessing that keeps happening to some extent but maybe my earnings and investments will continue to grow. I also find that yes I want to save but I also want to enjoy life since time is limited.

Growth:

I think this is partially on the learning spectrum but it is just simply am I growing in skills, wisdom, maturity and in being a leader. I think if you work in big orgs you will eventually get into management and it does take different skills. I may not want to lead forever but I am being pushed - which means I am growing. I assume one day I will start a Startup or two and that requires being a de-facto leader no matter how you slice it.

Impact:

This one is tougher. Pretty sure at my current gig that my impact is probably not noticed externally all that much but I know that I am helping customers, leading employees and slowly starting to change a process or product that over time will have external impact. It is harder at bigger places to do that but one has to make sure in their own sphere they are having an impact. If not - maybe something isn't working right?

Quality of life (QOL):

Another tough one since earning more can also improve quality of life but with earning comes stress and reduced time for family. Looking back and contemplating my current situation, I generally find that as I earn more my QOL goes down since I primarily think about family time and my own stress levels. One hopes to get to a point where you get both but for me that hasn't happened as of yet.

For those in India - be safe!