Slavery Today: What Are You A Slave To?
February 12th, 2009
I have a friend who has recently been bitten by the “fitness bug” Its quite strange. She is not actually training for anything, yet trains hours every day. She pays $40 an hour, (which apparently is cheap) three times a week to a personal trainer. He now gets her to fill in a “food diary” so he can check what she eats everyday.
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.
I have another friend who used to be the ultimate family man. Everything he did at work was driven by his desire to improve the lifestyle and standard of living of his wife and children. He just loved going home and sharing the fruits of his labours with them.
This friend was very concientious at work. Of course he was. His inspiration was the wellbeing of those he loved. So one day he got promoted. It was well deserved. When this happened though, something in his mind changed. All of a sudden he started measuring his worth by how far up the corporate ladder he could climb. His wife and family were relegated to a competing interest for his time. Time with them was time away from his career pursuits.
Both of these friends of mine have become slaves to their own ideas. They have become slaves as their goals, the things they were working for, have been forgotten. Now, the work is all that is left. The work which was supposed to pave the way to an end, has become the end in its own right.
In the first case, an effort to live a healthier and fuller life twisted around and on top of itself, into a situation where there is no room for the life she originally wanted. In the second case, the family which were the inspiration for success ended up being regarded as a competing interest for the time which could have been spent in the office.
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.
Ask yourself if there is work in your life which serves no purpose. It could be an exercise regime, a career, or even your perception on keeping your home overly clean.
If there is, have you become a slave to an idea? Are you toiling for no purpose. Remember you only have one life, so review this work and try to work out what it will bring you in 10 - 20 years? Will you look back on your toil and smile at the benefits it brought you? Or will you look back and see a landscape of opportunities missed?
Typically the people who become slaves to something in their lives, do so because they get so caught up in what they are doing, that they lose their perspective. Having lost perspective, the important things in life become muddied and unclear. If this sounds life you, there is a simple way to get your perspective back. You need to stop everything for one weekend. Go away for this time, on a retreat if you like. Spend this time thinking about and documenting the really important things in your life.
If you are a little unsure about whether you are getting perspective right, there is an easy way to check. The things you are doing, are they for a higher life purpose? If they are, you have perspective. If not, its possible you are still caught up in the idea of what you are doing. For example, working extra hard now can be part of a plan to achieve financial freedom and retire early. It shouldn’t be to get promoted to the next level in the corporate structure. The former is a life goal, the latter assumes another level of work is the end game, so you are working for works sake.
Going through this type of process, if done properly, will give you perspective. Once you have it, you will be in control of your life again. And being back in control, you’ll see work or training is there to support a higher purpose. And from here, you’ll have a vantage point from which you can recognise better methods, and oppotunities to find a better path to your goals. You won’t be stuck, trapped as a slave to your ideas.
Tags: games, happiness, self help, recreation
Tags: business, career, family, finance, goal setting, goals, investments, Self help, Self Improvement, society, work life balance
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