Work-life Balance vs. Total Dedication
Eight hours for sleep, Eight hours for work, Eight hours for life. Really?🤨🤨
Quote for today
Balance is not better time management, but better boundary management.
Betsy Jacobson
Work-life Balance vs. Total dedication
Good day, how as your week been going? Hope you didn’t face toxicity at work and hoping to have time for your life? Here is a piece that might change your perspective.
So today newsletter, we will be clearing out the work-life balance vs. total dedication. Early-catch: I believe the work-life balance is a fallacy and dedication is the only expected choice. Here is why?
The concept of Work-life balance is what I would term “new age” concept, total dedication to ones work was what has been needed in time past. When we say work-life balance, we try to separate one whole into 2 distinguish phases without mix, which is quite impossible.
Firstly, What is work?
The concept work as quite been modified, our definition is “a source of living”, what one does primarily as means of income. But permit me to go biblical, work from the point of creation was the essence of living. Genesis 1 vs. 26 (God said unto them be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, …). That was & is the essence of man, to work.
While the society as grown more complex and divergent, the primary reason of man is to work, and all others do not have to be independent of it, but interdependent. This my fundamental of total dedication, the outflow of one purpose into all aspect of living. I know you might not total agree or accept, but let’s now define WORK properly.
Without etymology or historical dating, we can say work is actually fulfilling or moving towards one purpose/essence in life. Work is not merely about you but work is about how you impact and change your world and lives.
Before I move on, I would like to credit the coming section insight to Frank Samuel. His contribution helped in building the basis for this newsletter.
FRANK SAMUEL is a Social Entrepreneur who started by leading youth-based organizations from the age of 15. He was once SUG President of the Federal University of Technology Owerri where he studied Geology and founded his social enterprise - Financial Fitness Clinic -FFC which has empowered over 10,000 young people with financial literacy skills to help them make better financial decisions and reduce the wealth inequality gap in Africa. He is very passionate about ensuring that the largest demography in the continent is equipped with the knowledge to build economic prosperity.
Our discussion is briefly outlined below at the “What’s Your Thought” section.
While we can say, work is life and total dedication is key to work, we have exemplary of them who neglected family or health. All in the name of work. What can we say of them?
The truth is when one really works where he/she is most passionate and his/her essence, there is joy and fulfillment that abide within that person and the quality of health increases and also the quality of moment shared in relationship is much valued. But that not all to it. While we understand and know that we must love our work, we should also understand life is in phases and stages and living out your purpose is not in a time-frame but an expression of who you are.
So as living is in phases, the effort you put into the work begins to adjust to accommodate other aspect of life. The scripture says, “It is good for a man to bear his yoke, while he is a youth.”, to say there is an aspect of your work which can be done best in certain seasons & time.
💡 As we journey life, we to have added responsibility. We may feel we are either losing out on those arears or unable to give much as we use to. REMEMBER: The Work is not effort you put in, but the goal you accomplish. - Abraham Maslow
What’s Your Thought?
I am very grateful Mr. Frank Samuel for the time to have to hear your insight on this topic. And I would also find it enlightening to share it with you all.
Q. Are we just called to one purpose and just live it out fully, or is there a balance, taking care of other areas?
A. Every area of your life is critical, if every area of your life is lived for, it is easy to take care of your life purpose. It is important to pay attention to them.
Q. What truly count as Success: Living out your purpose to the end as highest pursuit?
A. Because you are living out a purpose does not mean other arears of your life will die. If it happens you don’t actually live a successful life.
Successful living is fulfilling your God-giving purpose and ensuring every area of your life is well taken care of. No part should actually suffer if you want to have all-round success.
Q. Is there an hierarchy to one’s pursuit or all area be equally put aright?
A. Every point in time our ambitions changes and it’s actually important for one to recognize this. At certain stage of your life, certain areas are key & priority and you should treat them as priority in those phase.
P.S: I know this conversation was illuminating to you, and better of my lengthy text 😉. I would like you to do a little favour for me. Frank Samuel got nominated in this year SME 25under25 in 3 categories, I would love you to click any or all of this category to vote him: EDUCATION | SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP | FIN. & FIN. TECH. . It would mean a lot to me. Thanks in Advance
Deeper Dive:
BOOK: Arianna Huffington (Thrive: The third metric to redefining Success and Connecting a life of well-being, wisdom and wonder.)
YOUTUBE: Simon Sinek (Our lives are finite, but life is infinite, the game of life will continue with or without us.)
YOUTUBE: TED (If you don't design your life, someone else would design its for you and you may not like the idea of balance... We have to be responsible for setting and enforcing the boundaries we set in our lives)
YOUTUBE: Summit (I don't like the phrase Work-life balance, I think it is misleading, I like the phrase Work-life Harmony.)
WEBSITE: Nessa Labs (According to this view, the brain is like a battery with a finite amount of mental energy per day. We believe that every challenge we navigate at work will drain this battery.)
WEBSITE: HBR (Those who do the most effectively involves their families in work decision and activities.)
WEBSITE: Forbes (We want to live our lives to the fullest and we think that if we seek “balance”, we will find peace, contentment and perhaps even joy.)
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