Lifestyle Madness
"I hate my job" is a sentiment felt by many. How can we bring the passion back to our jobs? Sophia Mwangi speaks to David Oliver, a businessman, author and international speaker.
"It is very rare to find more than a handful of people who love 80% of their work," says David. "I call it madness: corporate madness, lifestyle madness, debt madness and career madness.
We choose the wrong jobs and most people could be challenged as to why they are in the job they are in. Today people go for jobs for spurious reasons; some do it to fund a lifestyle. They want the car, the bigger house, and the designer furniture. People are filling an insatiable black hole. It’s debilitating madness to fill a lifestyle they haven’t got time to enjoy."
Some people choose a career not because of who they are, but how it makes them appear. David calls this ‘Image Madness’. “We have become a nation of people obsessed with image. It’s good to ask myself, why have I chosen this career? Some choose careers for what one writer calls ‘the father wound’ - driven to perform because that was the only way they ‘earned’ approval from their fathers. Others have chosen jobs or careers in a vacuum - nobody has actually helped them find the right job.”
The Right Job?
David believes that everyone should ask, “Am I in the right job for the right reasons” and “Do I want this lifestyle madness?” If the answer is no, individuals need a strategy for change.
One way is downsizing. Another is to steal time back. “Many of us are cheating on our wife and kids, and we may be cheating our own soul of restoration by giving into the madness. It is time to stop. We need to find what it is that rebuilds our mind, soul, and makes us complete”, says David.
Magic Moments
After living in the USA, where the emphasis on work and family life is different from our own, David observes, “They have half the holidays we do, yet most families are far less stressed. They are far more at peace with one another and relaxed than most British families I know. They have a stronger attitude towards preserving family time and community.”
Despite being very busy, David has always endeavoured to create ‘magic moments’ for his children, moments they will never forget, like flying a kite. And they don’t have to cost anything either!
We have to work in order to live, but work can be a place of life, fun and passion. Work is not designed to make us routinely depressed or anxious. If that happens then the passion has gone and it’s time to ask some important questions….’What are my reasons for doing this, and what could I be better placed to do?’
Read David's article - 3 Keys to job satisfaction.
Written by David Oliver.
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