How many times did you risk too much to go to work?
We’ve had a major snow storm here, and I’m sitting here so grateful for modern technology. I’ve had a productive day despite (or maybe because of) being housebound.
I remember the old days, when I would drive in horrid conditions to get to the office. Many of us have a strong work ethic, and we prize ourselves on being reliable. Plus we know that work piles up and we’ll pay for the day “off” if we can’t make it in.
Never mind that getting in an accident would cost us more than the day’s worth in terms of money, time, aggravation and possibly injuries (sometimes with longer term consequences). I guess winter gives another meaning to the term “road warrior”.
A truly objective observer would have told me, on those days when I skidded to work squinting between snow drifts, that it was not worth it. Yet why did I (and many others) do it?
In addition to the reasons I mentioned above, I didn’t want people to think I was a slacker. The whole topic of “reputation” deserves a post of its own on another day.
Another reason is that it’s hard to pull back when you’re on a roll. The dark side of being devoted to getting things done and making things happen, is that we lose perspective. We’re so focused on getting the results, that when circumstances come up that should make us rethink our plans, we don’t see them or rationalize them away.
That’s a recipe for accidents, both on the road and in business. We all need an objective observer to pull us back from our irrestible momentum.
Post retirement awakening
I was biking one summer and ran into an ex-colleague, and despite the passing years, we recognized each other. He had been the head of his region in our large corporation and had devoted his career to the place. He was one of the lucky ones who looked as good as he had ten years before, and he was more relaxed and looked happier.
We exchanged pleasantries and, all of a sudden his voice changed. He looked at me and said: “You know, I bought the whole program. I really believed in it all.” And he shook his head in disbelief, his eyes looking startled.
Since he retired, he had been freed from the narrow corporate focus, and was now a more rounded person. And he basically said that if he were to relive his working days with his new outlook, he would have done things differently.
But he was one of the lucky ones: he had kept enough perspective that he had retained a meaningful family life through it all, and so was able to enjoy his retirement years.
Still, he regretted how he at times drove his staff for goals that he now saw as meaningless.
That pleasant encounter reminded me of the atmosphere that exists when a group of people are working hard towards chosen goals (their employers’ or their own). It can really warp our perspective if we don’t stand back once in a while and look at it from a wider point of view.
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