If you’re in India, I’m sure by now, you’ve read the note written by a mother who’s lost her young daughter who worked tirelessly through the nights and weekends at a place that glorified working too much.
The mother writes that her daughter was constantly tired, overworked, and sick of the toxicity. She complained of “chest constriction”. The cardiologist told the parents that she was not getting enough sleep and eating very late.
Having worked for a few years in the legal consultancy, I know that this state of affairs is neither surprising nor new to the Indian workspace.
Side note: If you have trouble understanding or believing that stress can cause death – you might want to read “When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress”.
We talk about working hard and staying committed to work so much that taking time off for yourself or your family is looked down upon. Being available on vacations is rewarded with quicker promotions and higher bonuses.
Leaving the office even at 8.00 p.m. (yes, that late) is considered a half-day. Saying no to being overworked is seen as a sign of laziness. If you’re not working on weekends, are you even working?
If you need some motivation, here is my story of how I broke the cycle of working from one deal to another, saved myself and accomplished much more. Of course, I’m also a work in progress, as we all mostly always are.
This is your reminder to check in with yourself. How have you been feeling recently? What is it that you’re working for ultimately? Is it worth it? Is it time to take a break?
Read about how taking a break to ‘do nothing’ can help you work better, work more, live happier and live longer. Embrace the Art of Doing Nothing: Italian Style
On a more personal note, we spoke about how we tend to assume some of the most random and basic things in relationships – all to protect ourselves from getting hurt like we did earlier.
In their book ‘Attached’, Amir Levine and Rachel S. F. Heller, who, by the way, are very well qualified to comment on this, say that most of their patients who complain of dissatisfaction in their relationships need to do only one thing to feel otherwise.
What if you could do this one practice and turn it all around for yourself and your partner?! Just this one practice and your relationships could be all that you have ever wanted them to be. Assumptions in Relationships.
An Excerpt from ‘How to Be a Man’ by Rudyard Kipling
“If …If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,……..………Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!”
Thank you for reading! See you in a few weeks.
Love, JKD
