Our life (mnc type people) i believe, is increasingly becoming a struggle between the health and the wealth. Take me for instance, i commute 80km in a day, which is about 2.5 hours on the road in a cab. I sit in front of a screen all day long.... My physical activity is negligible to be honest. Add to this the stress of deliverables, office politics, household worries (which thankfully are minimal at the minute) and you'll have a full blown unhealthy environment for the body to struggle in.
With all the reading i have done over the past couple of year on what to eat, what not to eat, how to eat etc, i concluded that i should have been dead by now. And now im starting to get worried about this abuse. But when i go either way - health or wealth, the only thing it reminds me of is - everything comes at a price.
I know for sure i would not be happy leaving my job for something less lucrative but closer home.It would be intellectually and personally unsatisfactory. Also, im very sure i would not want to die tomorrow or start looking like a jaded, stuck-in-the-wheels of life person. Clearly, my mother does not understand my predicament. For her, its a stupid question to begin with. She does not miss the opportunity of dishing out a few lines from sanskrit scriptures in support of health topping it all. But, i guess it becomes a more obvious choice when your biggest conern in life is arthritis. Nevertheless, i decided to learn from her experience in life.
I have decided to find a way to keep my job and reduce my abuse until something nice, closer home comes along. So i have started with fixing my routine a little - sleeping on time... Say max by 11. Its true, you czn sleep arly shen you wake up early. I wake up at 6 ... And im not a morning person at all... AT ALL. So expcting my body to start excercising in the morning would be like trying to get
mice to build the pyramids. But its important that i understand this fact. Well.... I wake up and while
the maid works... I try to come to my senses. I leave for work at 7, eat my beakfast at work. Have
lunch.. Blah blah.... Leave for home at 5... Reach home at 6.30. By which time im ready to eat an
elephant. THIS is my sticky spot - ideally i would want to have my dinner at this point - i'll have to work something out with the maid. M and i go for a 30min walk too.
That's the physical part - but what about the mental stress. Now i have learned quite a few things from M and one of which is - nothing is important enough to take away your peace. There are times
when nothing seems to be going your way. You suddenly acquire the opposite of the Midas touch and everything you touch turns into cowdung. So just accept it, dont try to touch too many things, lie low - knowing that this too shall pass. Like M says, "rough it out" for a bit. Because frankly baby, sometimes you don't really have a choice.
As for office politics - you could be as much or as little involved. Being professional really helps and
being indispensable helps even more. Longer associations help.... A general level of common sense
and avoiding silly behaviour .... Being politically correct helps too. Also, being honest helps... I dont
mean divulging what is not required, but being honest when asked helps in the long run. But that's
just me. It's how i want to conduct myself and im okay with not being the CEO, as long as i can live
with myself happily.
Here's a list of things i consciously think about to counter stress at work :
1. I cannot be cheap to get ahead, because what i think of myself is more important than what my
boss thinks of me.
2. Be grateful. Start counting the good things in my life - family, friends, moments, travels, experiences
3. Start counting what the boss and peers are missing out on. Even if i have to throw in a little bit of imaginary stuff - like bad sex life.
4. Health is most important and i cannot let petty work things ruin it.
5. Someday i'll do something of my own, however small. Be the boss.
6. I can do so many things other than my current work - teach, work with an NGO, learn new things,
read, study further. The world is bigger than the workplace.
2.
And remember ..... Everyone is allowed to be frustrated, angry, irrational and moody sometimes.... :)
With all the reading i have done over the past couple of year on what to eat, what not to eat, how to eat etc, i concluded that i should have been dead by now. And now im starting to get worried about this abuse. But when i go either way - health or wealth, the only thing it reminds me of is - everything comes at a price.
I know for sure i would not be happy leaving my job for something less lucrative but closer home.It would be intellectually and personally unsatisfactory. Also, im very sure i would not want to die tomorrow or start looking like a jaded, stuck-in-the-wheels of life person. Clearly, my mother does not understand my predicament. For her, its a stupid question to begin with. She does not miss the opportunity of dishing out a few lines from sanskrit scriptures in support of health topping it all. But, i guess it becomes a more obvious choice when your biggest conern in life is arthritis. Nevertheless, i decided to learn from her experience in life.
I have decided to find a way to keep my job and reduce my abuse until something nice, closer home comes along. So i have started with fixing my routine a little - sleeping on time... Say max by 11. Its true, you czn sleep arly shen you wake up early. I wake up at 6 ... And im not a morning person at all... AT ALL. So expcting my body to start excercising in the morning would be like trying to get
mice to build the pyramids. But its important that i understand this fact. Well.... I wake up and while
the maid works... I try to come to my senses. I leave for work at 7, eat my beakfast at work. Have
lunch.. Blah blah.... Leave for home at 5... Reach home at 6.30. By which time im ready to eat an
elephant. THIS is my sticky spot - ideally i would want to have my dinner at this point - i'll have to work something out with the maid. M and i go for a 30min walk too.
That's the physical part - but what about the mental stress. Now i have learned quite a few things from M and one of which is - nothing is important enough to take away your peace. There are times
when nothing seems to be going your way. You suddenly acquire the opposite of the Midas touch and everything you touch turns into cowdung. So just accept it, dont try to touch too many things, lie low - knowing that this too shall pass. Like M says, "rough it out" for a bit. Because frankly baby, sometimes you don't really have a choice.
As for office politics - you could be as much or as little involved. Being professional really helps and
being indispensable helps even more. Longer associations help.... A general level of common sense
and avoiding silly behaviour .... Being politically correct helps too. Also, being honest helps... I dont
mean divulging what is not required, but being honest when asked helps in the long run. But that's
just me. It's how i want to conduct myself and im okay with not being the CEO, as long as i can live
with myself happily.
Here's a list of things i consciously think about to counter stress at work :
1. I cannot be cheap to get ahead, because what i think of myself is more important than what my
boss thinks of me.
2. Be grateful. Start counting the good things in my life - family, friends, moments, travels, experiences
3. Start counting what the boss and peers are missing out on. Even if i have to throw in a little bit of imaginary stuff - like bad sex life.
4. Health is most important and i cannot let petty work things ruin it.
5. Someday i'll do something of my own, however small. Be the boss.
6. I can do so many things other than my current work - teach, work with an NGO, learn new things,
read, study further. The world is bigger than the workplace.
2.
And remember ..... Everyone is allowed to be frustrated, angry, irrational and moody sometimes.... :)
