Research into workaholics who have achieved a "Work-Life Balance" found that many only achieved true fulfilment and balance after a crisis had made them completely rethink their priorities.
Health scares were high on the list. Damaged relationships were common too.
Consider why you have developed your particular work habits and your response to stress. There are as many reasons as there are people. For many people there are a number of complicated reasons which stack one on another.
Are You Facing Retirement? or
Have you recently retired and found the transition difficult?
Does the thought of retirement fill you with excitement and anticipation? or
Do you dread the thought of giving up your job?
Workaholism is no different to the other “….holisms” in that the problem can be very difficult for partners and families to deal with.
Do you feel your life's dream is fulfilled?
What gives you the most satisfaction in your life?
Is there anything, which would make it more complete?
We all lead incredibly busy lives. Almost every one you speak to complains that they are short of time and have too much to do. For many of us the way in which we deal with our “To Do” list can add to our sense of overwhelm leading to high levels of stress and a diminished sense of self worth.
Much is spoken and written about wealth. Many of us dream about having a life style supported by unlimited funds, indeed this is the basis for lotteries run world wide.
There is a paradox too in the research which has been done looking at the levels of happiness and satisfaction of those who have earned or won large sums of money. Money it seems, fails to buy a sense of fulfilment and contentment for a high proportion of those who attain their dream of being rich.
I wonder if you feel truly fulfilled? Do you look forward every day with glorious anticipation to the day ahead? Does your heart sink at the thought of what the next day will bring? Do you love bits of your life and wish that the rest of your life matched up?
The power of anticipation is amazing. It is a skill you can learn and if employed on a regular basis it enables you to maximise the resources at your disposal and helps you to manage your time effectively. It changes your mode of operation from one of fire fighting to one which allows time for strategic planning.
The strategies work in every walk of life.
Creating lasting change is something many of us find difficult. If it was so easy none of us would need to lose weight, or keep smoking despite wanting to give it up, or continue to have disastrous relationships, or work too hard, or continue to make New Year’s resolutions which they fail to keep.