Breaking Free from Workaholism

This pic was taken just before the pandemic at the time of my daughter's birth. The night before we had a big argument at home. I had missed my son’s soccer class yet again.

Up until that point in my life, I identified strongly to my workaholism.

I am a workaholic. I love to work. I was convinced that sounded alright.

I thought I was doing the best I could as a single income earner. It was perfectly fine to put in extra hours at work even if that came at the cost of missed personal appointments.

The reality is my ambition had become my addiction. I was being selfish. I was working late by choice; even when it wasn't required. Work was my comfort zone. I didn't want to step out of it.

And then came Covid 19. As they say, adversity creates new opportunities; it opened a new window in my life. I realized I had a life outside work and I needed to live that well to be a better person.

I have to say the little angel in my life softened me up as well. I wasn’t a new dad but this time being at home throughout was a different experience.

I won’t pretend I am completely present at home even when I am at home. I am still working on this part.

But I’ve stopped identifying myself with workaholism.

I strongly believe if you want to make a sound investment in your life, you need to diversify it. Don’t be a one trick pony.

Strengthen your personal relationships, they are your foundation. Your success won’t last if the foundation is shaky. Think of it another way, do you want to profit at the loss of your relationships?

Develop new skills, passions, hobbies outside work. Pick up some passion project that has the potential to eventually become a second career in the next stage of your life. Think long term.

This post is not about putting your job down. Not at all. Work will always be the priority; it pays the bills. Because of work, you’re able to have a life outside work. But you don’t need to put one thing down to elevate another. Success in one aspect shouldn't come at the cost of failure in multiple others. It’s all about the balance!

We need to live our lives holistically. And if we’re not doing that, weekends are a great time to reflect on it.