Leave Your Work at Work and Go HomeMonday, September 11, 2006*** For those of you who lost loved ones or friends in the tragic events during 9-11, I hope that you find peace today as we mark the fifth anniversary. My thoughts are with all the people who lived through a day that changed their lives so profoundly. *** I am picking up where I left yesterday. I think the timing of this post is significant. I had to make a decision. For me it was prompted by a very personal experience. Almost four years ago, my best friend from High School died while playing the sport he loved, ice hockey. His death was very sudden and tragic. Three weeks before he died I had visited him in the town where we grew up. He lived 800 miles from me. I was traveling up to the town to go to my Dad's 65th birthday and I called my friend, Craig. I asked if he was free Friday evening to have a few beers and catch up. He was healthy as a horse, physically fit, and the same great guy I knew from my school days. We had many laughs. Three weeks later, I was driving back up to the same town to attend his funeral. He was gone. It rocked my world. To lose a friend at the age of 39 is something that is hard to reconcile. I no longer saw my life the same way. I especially became resentful of all the hours I was spending traveling with my job. I realized that I was letting my job control my life. I was getting more angry and resentful by the day. As a result of Craig's untimely departure from this world, my life changed. It took some time, but I eventually took control away from my job. I decided that my life was more important than my job and even the amount of money I made. Imagine that? There is no trick here. In order to stop your job from ruling your life and robbing you of energy, health, and happiness, must make one decision. You must decide to stop the madness. You must say to yourself that your life is more important than your company. Your company is paying you to do a job. They are not paying you to give up your life. You must learn how to stop the worries of the day from replaying in your mind. Your drive or ride home must be "work-free." Think of an upcoming vacation - sitting on the beach with the ocean breeze. Think about your son's last great soccer match. Think of riding your road bike on a cool autumn day. You must train your mind to think of those things that make you happy in life. The rule is simple - you cannot think about negative work-related things the minute you walk out of the office door. If you catch yourself starting to think about that obnoxious guy that works in the cube next to you, stop. It takes some practice, but I assure you it can be done. If you can't train yourself to leave your job behind, then you have two alternatives. 1) Look for a job that is less demanding or has less responsibility. You are obviously having difficulty handling the level of responsibility or the amount of work required. This is hard, because it may require a lifestyle change. You may need to take a significant cut in pay. Is your life worth that? Yes. 2) Get some professional help. It is okay to admit that you cannot control your emotions. Counseling has helped many people. Sometimes it helps to have a professional walk through the exercise of giving up your work stress and learning to live a more healthy and happy life. Is your life worth that? Yes. If you take your job home and all the related stress, make a decision to stop right now. It took my friend Craig's death to make me really stop and evaluate my priorities in life. I kept thinking about how he wasn't going on that Caribbean vacation with his wife. He was really looking forward to it. He wasn't going to hold his grandchild. He wasn't going to see his son graduate from college. I wrestled with this for over a year. Then, I finally got it! I realized I still had a chance. You do too. posted at 9/11/2006 08:00:00 AM |
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Copyright © 2006 Beat Your Own Drum
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