| Slavery Today: What Are You A Slave To? |
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| Written by Gnifrus Urquart |
| Thursday, 15 October 2009 11:08 |
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Its funny how sometimes we start doing something to achieve a goal, but the actions end up taking on a life of their own. I have a friend for example, who made a new year's resolution a few years back to lose a little bit of weight. She did this because she wanted to live a more robust and balanced lifestyle. Having lost the weight though, her training turned into an obsession. Everything now is about her training schedule and dietry regime.
Its funny how sometimes we start doing something to achieve a goal, but the actions end up taking on a life of their own. I have a friend for example, who made a new year's resolution a few years back to lose a little bit of weight. She did this because she wanted to live a more robust and balanced lifestyle. Having lost the weight though, her training turned into an obsession. Everything now is about her training schedule and dietry regime. She has stopped enjoying dinners out, popcorn at the movies and any social event which interferes with her training schedule or dietry regime. I have another friend who used to be the ultimate family man. Everything he did at work was driven by his desire to improve the lifestyle and standard of living of his wife and children. He just loved going home and sharing the fruits of his labours with them. One day he got promoted. Of course he did, he was extremely motivated and professional at work, his wife was his inspiration and the reason for his success. But when he got promoted, something changed. Work wasn't about providing for his family anymore, it grew a life of its own. All of a sudden, power and the career ladder were the only things he could see. Both of these friends of mine have become slaves in today's world. They have become slaves because they have lost sight of the things they were working for. Having lost sight of these things, work is the only thing that is left for them. Work has become their lives. With my first friend, she originally wanted to lose some weight and live a healthier, fuller and happier lifestyle. Losing sight of this, she now trains and eats to a regimen that excludes life outside this regimen. My second friend now sees time spent with his wife as a competing interest to time spent at the office, a constraint which gets in the way of his commitment to the job. 200 years ago, people did not do this. Life was about living, life was about family and work was about putting food on the table. The only people for whom work was the end, rather than the means, were slaves. And slavery has been outlawed. Yet today, people constantly get the means confused with the end, and then wonder why at retirement there is nothing else in their lives. Ask yourself if there is work in your life which serves no purpose. It could be an exercise regime, a career, or even your perception on keeping your home overly clean. If there is, have you enslaved yourself to an idea? Ask yourself this. How will you look back at the endeavour in 20 years? Will it be something which made your life better or will it be something that stifled your life, resulting in missed opportunities and time not spent with loved ones? Typically the people who become slaves to something in their lives, do so because they get so caught up in what they are doing, that they lose their perspective. Having lost perspective, the important things in life become muddied and unclear. If this sounds life you, there is a simple way to get your perspective back. You need to stop everything for one weekend. Go away for this time, on a retreat if you like. Spend this time thinking about and documenting the really important things in your life. If you are a little unsure about whether you are getting perspective right, there is an easy way to check. The things you are doing, are they for a higher life purpose? If they are, you have perspective. If not, its possible you are still caught up in the idea of what you are doing. For example, working extra hard now can be part of a plan to achieve financial freedom and retire early. It shouldn't be to get promoted to the next level in the corporate structure. The former is a life goal, the latter assumes another level of work is the end game, so you are working for works sake. Once you get your perspective, you'll throw the shackles of slavery which have held you in your rut. You'll regain control on your life, you won't be dancing to anyone else's tune. So protect your perspective, remember what is important in your life and make sure the work you do serves your life goals. This is very different to your life serving your work goals. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Gnifrus Urquart recognised a many years time ago the way to financial freedom comes down to three things; increasing, managing and investing your cash. Review his business strategies today You are welcome to reprint this article - but get your own unique content version here. |