One of my friends recently committed herself to a healthier, fitter lifestyle. It started off as a very healthy change for her, but at some stage it turned into an obsession. She now spends hours a day training, documents and reviews everything she eats, yet is not training for anything specific.
Its a little bit sad really, she originally went out to give herself a better life yet now she cannot even enjoy many of its simple joys. Eating popcorn at the movies fills her with guilt. A dinner out with friends will be finished early if she has training tomorrow. She isn't actually training for anything specific, yet her regime rules her life.
One of my other friends was the ultimate husband. Everything he did was for the benefit of his wife and home life. His reward for a hard days work was going home to her. She was the reason he went to work, she was the reason for everything he did.
One day, my friend was promoted. A worthy promotion as he really was the top performer at work, both in his own right and in the way he got the best out of all the people who reported to him. When he received this promotion, something changed. Quality of life stopped being his priority. Time with his wife stopped being his purpose. Rather, he started validating himself by furthering himself at work, by future promotions and by where he was placed on the corporate ladder.
Both of these friends of mine have become slaves in today's world. They have become slaves because they have lost sight of the things they were working for. Having lost sight of these things, work is the only thing that is left for them. Work has become their lives.
My first friend started her experience with the desire to live a healthier, fuller life. Today this desire has narrowed to a life that excludes anything not related to her training schedule. My other friend's hunger for power and career success was so strong that it displaced his love for family as his number 1 priority. It became an end in its own right when previously it was simply a means to an end.
Historically, this has never been a normal way of living. Historically, people only ever did what they had to do to support themselves and their loved ones. What time was left was honoured as time to enjoy, time to share. There was only one group of people for whom work was the end game in life, and we called them slaves. Its interesting that today, despite slavery being outlawed, people still live in a similar manner.
What are you working on at the moment? What are you trying to achieve by this endeavour? This is something I ask myself all the time. If you find you are working on something for the sake of the work, why are you doing it? If you are not enjoying it, what do you expect to get out of it? Is there work in your life that now has a life of its own?
If there is, have you enslaved yourself to an idea? Ask yourself this. How will you look back at the endeavour in 20 years? Will it be something which made your life better or will it be something that stifled your life, resulting in missed opportunities and time not spent with loved ones?
Typically we become slaves to ideas when we lose sight of the important things in life. We do this when we get so absorbed in the work we are doing, we forget to look at the broader picture. The quickest way to rectify this issue is to take a timeout. Spend a little time away from everything and get your head together again. Think about the things which are and will be really important over the course of your life, not just now. Forget about what everyone else is telling you, look into your heart and find your own perspective. Because once you find that perspective, you will throw the shackles of your self imposed slavery aside and get out of your rut.
You'll know you have done this well when the things that are important to you, are things that your work can "buy", not measurements of your work. For example, a career oriented goal should not be completing the project on time and under budget, it should be affording that holiday in Tahiti. And a fitness goal should not be losing 20kg and improving your resting pulse to 68 beats per minute, it should be being competitive while playing tennis with a bunch of friends, which you will follow up with a guilt free meal and a couple of drinks.
Once you get this right, you will have something we call perspective. You will be living your own life again. This will give you the ability to relegate work into a supporting role in your life, rather than the lead role. And from your position of vision, you will be able to see that there are better ways to achieve your life goals, rather than through your slavery of choice. - 15254
Its a little bit sad really, she originally went out to give herself a better life yet now she cannot even enjoy many of its simple joys. Eating popcorn at the movies fills her with guilt. A dinner out with friends will be finished early if she has training tomorrow. She isn't actually training for anything specific, yet her regime rules her life.
One of my other friends was the ultimate husband. Everything he did was for the benefit of his wife and home life. His reward for a hard days work was going home to her. She was the reason he went to work, she was the reason for everything he did.
One day, my friend was promoted. A worthy promotion as he really was the top performer at work, both in his own right and in the way he got the best out of all the people who reported to him. When he received this promotion, something changed. Quality of life stopped being his priority. Time with his wife stopped being his purpose. Rather, he started validating himself by furthering himself at work, by future promotions and by where he was placed on the corporate ladder.
Both of these friends of mine have become slaves in today's world. They have become slaves because they have lost sight of the things they were working for. Having lost sight of these things, work is the only thing that is left for them. Work has become their lives.
My first friend started her experience with the desire to live a healthier, fuller life. Today this desire has narrowed to a life that excludes anything not related to her training schedule. My other friend's hunger for power and career success was so strong that it displaced his love for family as his number 1 priority. It became an end in its own right when previously it was simply a means to an end.
Historically, this has never been a normal way of living. Historically, people only ever did what they had to do to support themselves and their loved ones. What time was left was honoured as time to enjoy, time to share. There was only one group of people for whom work was the end game in life, and we called them slaves. Its interesting that today, despite slavery being outlawed, people still live in a similar manner.
What are you working on at the moment? What are you trying to achieve by this endeavour? This is something I ask myself all the time. If you find you are working on something for the sake of the work, why are you doing it? If you are not enjoying it, what do you expect to get out of it? Is there work in your life that now has a life of its own?
If there is, have you enslaved yourself to an idea? Ask yourself this. How will you look back at the endeavour in 20 years? Will it be something which made your life better or will it be something that stifled your life, resulting in missed opportunities and time not spent with loved ones?
Typically we become slaves to ideas when we lose sight of the important things in life. We do this when we get so absorbed in the work we are doing, we forget to look at the broader picture. The quickest way to rectify this issue is to take a timeout. Spend a little time away from everything and get your head together again. Think about the things which are and will be really important over the course of your life, not just now. Forget about what everyone else is telling you, look into your heart and find your own perspective. Because once you find that perspective, you will throw the shackles of your self imposed slavery aside and get out of your rut.
You'll know you have done this well when the things that are important to you, are things that your work can "buy", not measurements of your work. For example, a career oriented goal should not be completing the project on time and under budget, it should be affording that holiday in Tahiti. And a fitness goal should not be losing 20kg and improving your resting pulse to 68 beats per minute, it should be being competitive while playing tennis with a bunch of friends, which you will follow up with a guilt free meal and a couple of drinks.
Once you get this right, you will have something we call perspective. You will be living your own life again. This will give you the ability to relegate work into a supporting role in your life, rather than the lead role. And from your position of vision, you will be able to see that there are better ways to achieve your life goals, rather than through your slavery of choice. - 15254
About the Author:
Gnifrus Urquart recognised a many years time ago the way to financial freedom comes down to three things; increasing, managing and investing your cash. Review his business strategies today
