Breaking free from the obsession of work

In our modern society today you have to become obsessed with work for you to go far. Aside from those born in really extreme wealth, the rest of us have to work very hard in order to obtain sufficient wealth to allow us live comfortably or at least how we wish. Some people are contented with having an average life, while others are more concerned with doing all they can to get all they can, this eventually leads us to become workaholics.

Another aspect of it all which makes us all the more obsessed is the fact that somehow we’ve convinced ourselves that having sufficient wealth will buy us freedom. The association we’ve created between wealth and freedom makes us work harder, all the more because we want all the freedom we can get. At least this is the analysis I make of it all, I’m guessing different people might have different reasons for being workaholics, this obsession goes to the point of becoming ingrained into our very own character and personality. We fall in love to the point where work is no longer a means to an end but rather the end itself, its no longer the way to our freedom but rather our freedom itself, in it we find all our happiness and joy.

I personally think it's a good thing to find happiness in our purpose, when that turns out to be our jobs then its better. We get to excel at what we do and also find happiness in it, of course this isn’t always the case for everybody, others might rather prefer a life free from hard work and aimed more at socializing. Everybody has what makes them happy and they seek more of that. I am speaking on a specific group of people who don’t find happiness in what they do and are forced to do it in order to buy their freedom in some sense. They end up spending the rest of their lives working really hard to the point of exhaustion without ever getting the happiness or freedom they work so hard to obtain.

This is much more common than you might think actually, how many people work in very hectic jobs where they are underpaid and have no prospects of growing in their career? way too many. They end up becoming obsessed with their work hoping that putting in even more hard work will eventually grant them enough resources to break free and obtain the happiness they seek. They work themselves out for the rest of the lives but never obtain enough wealth to free themselves and never get to enjoy the happiness they wished for. For example; imagine this aspiring young leader whose dream was to become an affluent politician with a lot of pull in his community to impulse change. He might just end his career working in a council, unable to climb the political ranks, while desperately hoping that his chances will only get better with time. Eventually, he runs out of time.

Our obsession with work blinds us from seeing we aren’t making any real progress, we aren’t getting any happier, and we are running out of time. Each day we keep working even harder, but we aren’t getting any happier, we keep pandering to our bosses hoping that on the next appointment round we’ll be the chosen one. To make things even worse, we actually need that job and salary, our whole family depends on it.

Take the risk

There aren’t many avenues offered to us when we are constrained by so many factors, I can’t just tell you to quit your job and find something you like doing. If thats something you can possibly do then you should go for it but I think for the average person that would be bad advice. A better advice I can give will be for you to “take a risk” (ironically)

Look at it this way, imagine you are stuck on an island with imminent danger and there is only going to be one window of opportunity for you to survive. I am sure you are going to do everything to get prepared not to miss that opportunity. In the same way, to free yourself from an unfulfilling lifestyle, you can choose to take a calculated risk which has a high pay-off. People actually do this everyday, they go out to banks and take huge loans to start audacious projects which have a high pay-off. You have no idea of how many people who have been able to turn their lives around through business, they had to create this opportunity for themselves by taking a risk.

I am not necessarily saying you must become a business person, what I am emphasizing on is you taking a calculated risk to better your life rather than being stuck where you are. If you are already having a fulfilling job then that’s good and fine to be obsessed with. When this job is rather a prison you can’t break free from then maybe you should take a chance at making things better.

Redefine Happy

There isn’t an intrinsic definition of happiness, this is rather a definition we come to from what we observe in the world. Whatever you call happiness is something you either saw or experienced which left a positive mark on you and now you seek to replicate that. From the fancy lifestyles of celebrities we see on TV, to the happy and cozy family lifestyle we experienced ourselves, all these became definitions of happiness for us and now we seek to replicate them.

Whether you are trying to be an astronaut or a business mogul, you aspire to be that because you saw someone else and that inspired you. Which means this definition of happiness was decided, and you can redefine it as well. It's not something easy to do but it's possible, you can choose something else that makes you happy.

Conclusion

I think we are all seeking happiness, whatever that means for us. It would be a waste for us to be moving in the wrong direction in the end. With our jobs either we are already enjoying the happiness or we buying ourselves time, but I don’t think we are buying ourselves any freedom. Most people who become obsessed with working hard to buy their freedom eventually get so obsessed with the work to the point where they no longer find pleasure in that freedom. Staying at home becomes rather a chore they want to flee from. They revert to the routine they’ve been doing for decades and which has now become their lifestyle, meanwhile it was rather a means to an end.

What does happiness mean to you and can you say you are on the right track to obtain it ?