“Nothing is more terrible than ignorance in action”. — Goethe
What does this mean exactly? Perhaps it is as simple as this:
“The unexamined life is not worth living”. — Socrates
We get one passage here on Earth. Let’s make it a good one.
Tag: Gen X
Mid Life Workaholics
“Workaholics commit slow suicide by refusing to allow the child inside them to play”. — Dr. Lawrence Susser
Recognizing the intense desire to do a good job, many people still have a challenging time overcoming mid life work addiction.
My Grandfather worked full-time, plus he ran a TV repair business out of his basement. This was back in the day when Televisions were heavy and huge. He had to travel to people’s homes. This traveling and the work required to repair TV’s in the basement, plus the travel to return the TV, must have made his work commitment enormous.
My Dad worked 5 1/2 days every single week at the Paper Mill. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, he taught 30-minute drum lessons in our living room – from 4pm until 8pm. On Friday and Saturday nights, he played drums in a band – weddings, anniversaries, clubs, etc.
Now it’s my turn. Working at a Fortune 100 Company, there is no shortage of work to be done. And I’ve done it willingly for several decades. Now, I’m also working on my retirement business – to help raise enough money to find a cure for our son’s Crohn’s disease.
The difference, I perceive, is that I have found creative ways to be part of our son’s life. But only after I squandered the first four decades of my life.
Mid Life Ecclesiates?
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven; a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted”. — Ecclesiates 3:1-2
And a time for mid life, which happens in it’s own unique way for virtually everyone. For some, like me, it can easily last a decade. For others, perhaps it comes and goes over a weekend.
The essence of a mid life crisis is that it’s a time for reflection, and asking:
- “How did I get to this point in my life”?
- “Is this where I thought I wanted to be”?
- “What is the purpose of my life”?
- “Is there anything I need to change”?
- “Can I change it, and is it even worth it”?
Life is hard. There is no manual telling us exactly what to do. There are so many unpredictable things that change, destroy or inspire our plans. It’s up to each of us to choose wisely.
Forgive Yourself, Please
“A man must learn to forgive himself”. — Arthur Davison Ficke
One of life’s fundamental success principles is learning to forgive. Yet it’s not enough to simply learn how to forgive others. Which is and of itself, one of life’s biggest challenges.
Bigger still is doing it to yourself. Life will never be complete without the critically fundamental act of forgiving yourself.
Many people in, or nearing, mid life find this difficult. We carry “baggage“. Apparently, we like carrying baggage. Why else would we carry so much of it? It gives us excuses for why we are like we are.
Well, I dislike baggage. Perhaps if we really wanted to change, we would. So maybe, many of us are co-dependent on ourselves.
Hope your day is full of self-discovery. Self-discovery in mid-life can be painful to admit. It can also be the key to letting go of our baggage and learning how to travel with a lighter suitcase.
Workaholics Hate Leisure Time
“Because it is less structured than work, leisure time leaves workaholics at a loss for what to do. Workaholics practically climb the wall when they can’t work”. — Marilyn Machlowitz
This is “painful” to read. Why? Because I felt particularly guilty this weekend.
While I did do a decent job of carving out time with our son, work occupied a better portion of the weekend. It was predictable.
It isn’t leisure that leaves a loss for what to do. It’s quite enjoyable, almost nirvana, doing nothing. But the work starts to pile up. So much to do. So little time.
Yes indeed, so little time. Our nine-year old will be driving before you know it. And then it will be too late.