Have you ever felt that you have been working too hard? Do you sometimes wonder whether all this extra effort was worth it?
I know you have been sincere with your work and pushed yourself so you can move up the ladder.
At the same time… have you ever thought about what you have missed?
Think about your loved ones… your children especially. Watching your children grow up is one of the best things in life.
How many years of their growth have you missed because of your fanatic commitment to work?
If you feel frustrated about your current work-life situation, don’t despair.
You can’t undo your past… but there’s definitely a way out. It’s time to take a step back and re-look at your priorities in life.
Working too much doesn’t get you anywhere. There are many scientific studies that have validated this.
Working too much affects your productivity, drains you emotionally and negatively affects your relationships.
I have seen many clients lose their family and personal life because of their fanatic commitment to work. This article by Ashley Welch does give you more insights on the same.
They come to me when they are at the cross-roads and ask me to help them. I guide them along and help them make the changes they need to make.
If they can do it, so can you.
All it requires is commitment and disciplined focus.
With that said, here are a few keys to turn around your life both professionally and personally…
Re-Evaluate Your Goals And Priorities
When clients come to me, the first thing I do is to look at their goals and priorities.
I request them to spend a few hours in quiet introspection to figure out what they really want and why they want it.
What is it that you really want in your professional and personal life?
And why do you really want it?
Almost everyone who comes to me wants to succeed professionally and keep moving forward.
When I look at their why, I usually find that the main motivation is their family. They want to be able to provide more to their family.
This makes them fanatical with their work. However, they often end up alienating their family thanks to their fanaticism.
So if you are serious about turning around your life, start examining your priorities. This brilliant article by Leo Babuta Setting Priorities is a worthy read.
I always encourage my clients to put their Health first, Family second and then Work.
Without taking care of your health, you won’t be able to spend time with your family. In fact, there is a significant chance that you might drop dead in a few years if you keep doing the things you are doing right now.
Therefore, make health your priority. Then comes family and money/career comes right after that.
Interact With Like-Minded People
If you keep interacting with people who have broken families, chances are that you will end up with one too.
Change the crowd you hang out with and your life will change accordingly.
Look at people in your social circle who have managed to achieve perfection in their work-life balance. Hold them as your examples… even if they are your subordinates.
Talk to them and learn from them. They will be more than willing to help you. The positive energy you get from those interactions will fuel you to make the changes you need to make. You can refer this brilliant article on the same topic by Amir Motahari.
Listen To Your Body
There are some people that I come across who end up biting more than they can chew.
They often end up over-working… as though there is no tomorrow. They never take a minute to step back and listen to their body.
They use motivational psycho-babble to keep them upbeat. They believe they are invincible.
But if you observe closely, you will find that they have a bunch of health issues such as:
1. Insomnia
2. Acid reflux
3. Palpitations
4. Etc
If you have ever felt cranky, apathetic and low in energy, there is a chance that you have been doing the same.
… This means you need to slow down and take a fresh look at your life by listening to your own body. This article by Dr. Susan Biali is worth a read if you are keen to listen to your body.
Begin Eating Healthy Whole Food
When you try to make these changes, the single most important thing that matters is your energy level.
You need energy to:
1. Listen to your loved ones
2. Fix a broken relationship
3. Complete a work project
4. Manage a team effectively
… And your energy levels come from the food you take in.
Most workaholics hardly eat or eat junk food most of the time. Chances are, you have been doing the same.
… And this is going to significantly compromise your emotional and physical well-being.
Stop doing that. Look at eating whole food such as fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Just practice this routine for one month. Replace junk foods with fresh foods.
You will be surprised with the rapid change in your energy levels… and this will happen without any exercise at all. This article by Harvard school of public health will give you more insights.
Building Healthy Habits Is A Continuous Process
You don’t become healthy overnight. You don’t stop your workaholic habit in just one day.
It takes time… and it starts with one small habit at a time.
The moment you create consistency in your food pattern, you will gather the motivation you need to start exercising.
You will gain more control over your sleep and within a year, you would have completely transformed into a NEW person.
If you have been a workaholic all this long and want to create a work-life balance in your life, just click on the link below to schedule a Strategy Call with me personally
Strategy Call
Working with a professional coach who can listen to your frustrations non-judgmentally and support you can help you get results faster.
Besides working with clients 1 on 1, I also engage with corporate teams through my Group Coaching Sessions.
Through these sessions, your team will learn how to make powerful changes to their current lifestyle, so they can tremendously improve performance. In my personal Intervention, I will teach them how to…
1. Improve their physical and emotional well being
2. Co-operate more efficiently
3. Channelize their energy and improve their productivity
Are you an executive who is looking to increase your team’s overall productivity? Then go here right now to get in touch with me…
Strategic Intervention
You can also reach out to my team by sending out a mail to the following email id enquiry@satishrao.in One of my team members will be happy to reach out to you and discuss about these “Strategic Interventions”.
Thank you for reading my post. I regularly write about Leadership, Peak Performance, and Health & Wellness.
If you would like to read my regular posts, then feel free to connect with me through Social Media via Twitter, Facebook , Google + and LinkedIn.
Yours Sincerely,
Satish Rao
PS: If you find this article helpful, I’d appreciate if you can spread the message with your friends and co-workers.