Let me throw a really deep thought your direction. Your job (or career) is done by you to get the money you need to live the life you want. Would you agree with that statement? There is no wrong answer, but let me put it into different terms. If you you didn’t get a paycheck, would you still go into work?
I think we all know the answer to that question would be an almost universal, “No”. It is an interesting thought to ponder though, I know for most of us, we spent a lot of time training, learning and educating ourselves to achieve the position and success at our jobs - and there is nothing wrong with that.
However at the end of the day, absent the paycheck odds are you wouldn’t be missing out on all the other things in life you enjoy that your job possibly makes you miss. Do not misunderstand me, I think it is important to work, man was designed to work. There is nothing wrong with our jobs, they bring purpose and meaning to life as well as providing the resources we rely on to fund the things we like to do in life.
But here is thing, is your job (or career) the thing you want to be known by and remembered for, or is it a means to an end. This may be a touchy subject for you given the significant investment and sacrifice you’ve probably made to be where you are at in life as it relates to your job. I understand that to get to where you in life and career probably took a lot of sacrifice, but it is within that sacrifice that I challenge you to consider the things you may have missed out on as a result.
It is when you become so embedded and consumed with a job that you lose focus on the things that are important. If the last thing you do before you go to sleep at night and the first thing you do when you wake up is worry and obsess and ponder the things at work, you probably have your priorities twisted. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take seriously the things that you need to do to make a living, however learning to create a work / life balance is important so that you can get the most out of life.
I met a guy once who only knew work. He would go into the office 7-days a week. Along the way he missed out on his kids, he missed out on having friends, and ultimately he ended the his journey through life by himself. The funeral was quite depressing in that not even his only family bothered to show up. The fact is, he was never there for him in life, I think their logic was why be there for him in death. I can’t state this as fact, but my guess is during his dying breaths he wasn’t thinking about working more. My educated guess is within those dying breaths reflecting back on all the things neglected during a lifetime spent doing nothing but work.
Here is what I know - for me - that is no way to live life. I want to be there for my kids, for my wife, for my friends - able to do the things I want to do with the ones I want to do it with. My job provides the resources to do the things I want to do in life. I am master of my job, I control it, IT DOESN’T CONTROL ME.
How about you?
The challenge this week is to reflect on your job and ask your self the same. Are you in charge or is it in charge. Working with a Coach can not only help you extract MORE from the job you have, but allow you to extract MORE from the life you want to live. If you aren’t getting the most out of the life you currently have, why wait a minute longer. Working with a Coach will get you started on living your life to its fullest, and isn’t that what life is all about?
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