I think we have an easy respect for physical exertion: if someone has done backbreaking work, or a remarkable athletic feat (shoutout to my marathon-running friends!), it’s easy and right to honor it.
But it’s not so easy to innately respect the exhaustion from purely mental labor. But it’s just as punishing.
I led the band through four Cabaret performances in under 24 hours this weekend. I didn’t play anything, but my job was to be laser focused on the music at hand, to be ready to jump in and help, anticipating problems.
I didn’t physically do anything, but I was well and truly exhausted when the fourth performance was over.
Most humans today do some or most of their work only in their heads, and I think we must do better at honoring the exhaustion that results. Most of us didn’t work in the fields or work a factory shift today, but our mental labor is real and it can leave you just as tired as the physical labor we innately respect.
PS: Good teaching is a balance of both physical and mental labor – no wonder that the teachers I know finish their teaching days so fully exhausted.