I have been reading Michele Martin’s blog for a number of years now and quite often her thoughts and ideas resonate with myself. Late last year she wrote a post concerning how one’s passion for work can have a marked impact on a career, in a positive and negative sense. As I read her thoughts I could sense a little of me in her words, and those of Robert J. Vallerand. Yet, the post made me think of other people over the years and the words of her post crystallised my thoughts.
There are people out there with an unbridled passion for their careers, keen to climb the ladder, working long hours and never missing a beat. Yet, at the same time these same individuals are sharing thoughts regarding troubles at home, sick children and never having the time of day to enjoy their life. In some instances their uncurtailed passion for their career creates barriers between themselves and their colleagues and also their own family members. Their focus is so blinkered they lose touch with their colleagues and their family. Their ambitions may ride roughshod over the working lives of their colleagues. Their passions evolve from selfless to selfish. They can feel unhappy. Those around them feel unhappy.
Michele’s post articulates the difference between harmonious and obsessive passion and how each relates to the workplace. I remember sharing this post via Twitter when I initially read it last December. I received a number of replies and retweets as others also connected Michele’s thoughts with their own careers and workplaces.
Guess what I am saying is having a passion for your career is okay as long as you manage it in a way that does not impact upon your own wellbeing and the wellbeing of others around you, both at home and in the workplace.
After all, when you are on your deathbed, reminiscing about your life, do you really think you will be caring about all the boxes that you ticked, the promotions you received and the nice shiny offices that had your name on the door?
Attribution: Rusted dumpster ladder by davetoaster. License: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Aug 19, 2012 @ 12:45:19
Beautifully put. An excellent reminder. Thank you!
Aug 27, 2012 @ 22:46:15
John, thanks for reminding me about this post. Funny how even when you write things, you can forget. 🙂
One of my own personal passions is to get people out of this obsessive passion for work because I do think that it’s killing all of us. Many times what I find is that it’s the people who are stuck in this mode who end up being the most unhappy with their careers, in addition to everything else. But it tends to hit them like a bomb, often when something outside their control (like losing their jobs) hits them. I’m a firm believer in keeping an eye on this kind of stuff on a regular basis so you can make changes along the way, rather than having your whole life blow up because of it.
Aug 28, 2012 @ 06:21:47
Thank you Michelle for your comment. I appreciate your feedback. It is true. I actually think of your post reasonably often as I meet individuals that are seemingly “married” to their career and disconnected from the rest of life. Balance is needed in life, more so than ever. Cheers, John.