Do you live to work or work to LIVE?
This is a question you have probably heard before, but have you actually sat down and thought about your mindset around the work you do and how you spend your spare time and you time that is just for you?
If you take a look at the European model, the model is based on working in order to live. Siestas are taken in the afternoon, late dinners spent together as a family are the norm and health and vitality is a must.
The North American model seems to be more based on living to work. You spend more than 80% of your days with your head down, working hard to get ahead in life, feeling the grind and quite honestly, missing out on the most important relationships, time and events in the lives of those who matter most. You don’t take time to pause, and vacations are something you think of or dream of having, but you just can’t seem to fit in in and it becomes a someday or one day kind of thing.
Is this describing your current mindset? How do you FEEL living like this?
According to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation Better Life Index, “Europeans rank number one, with Scandinavia topping the list of having a great work life balance……however, it’s a very different story for employees in the U.S., who work an average of 47 hours a week (which equates to six days a week).” So many workers are finding it difficult to manage their work / life balance in todays fast paced world. The bottom line, you need to take time for you, to refuel, recharge and refocus.
As I write this, I am sitting on the beach in Jamaica watching the sunrise and listening to the waves lap up on the sand. I have had a week to unwind, to unplug and to be present with my family. I took time to FLY and find that balance again in my life.
It has made me think and reflect on why is truly most important in life – and that is those who matter most in your lives.
Think about the people in your world who you cherish, love and who you couldn’t live without.
When you think about them, How does that make you feel?
Close your eyes and think about a time when you were the happiest you have ever been. What sensations do you experience on bringing back those memories?
What do you see around you? What can you smell? What can you hear? What can you taste? What can you feel?
This happy moment or time in your life is memory that will always be there for you and one that you can return to anytime you wish, simply by closing your eyes and reconnecting to ho you felt in that moment or place.
This is something I explained to my two girls as they were sad to leave Jamaica, just as I was. I told them that we can always close our eyes and feel the warmth of the sun kissing our cheeks, we can hear the waves lapping up on the shore, we can taste the treats from the bakery where they ate their crepes each morning and we can experience the happiness that we all had by being together by hitting pause on life and remembering those sensations. We have taken a piece of Jamaica with us and it is now a part of our hearts and minds forever and the experiences we had as a family, will always be with us.
The risk however, is that you live life in a fast paced world and you forget to unplug, connect with the people who matter most and you miss the most important moments to carry with you and treasure forever. You spend all of your time working, experiencing stress, plugged in on electric devices and not really being present in engaging in your life on a day to day basis with those who do matter most. You miss the most important parts of what life has to offer because your head is stuck in the sand.
Do you live to work or work to LIVE?
My week in Jamaica really brought this home for me and I realize just how easy it is to fall into the habits that really don’t serve us, but those that set the tone and the pace of our lives.
I once lived with my head stuck the sand, building everyone else’s dreams and really not living into my own. I was missing my kids growing up and I was paying for someone else to raise them while I worked to “get us ahead” in life financially. Spending all of my time teaching and interacting with everyone else’s children.
Lets face it, you probably are guilty of doing the exact same things as I did and almost every person out there lives in that manner as you have been conditioned by society to go to work, to work hard to get ahead and to now live with your face stuck in an electronic device to communicate. You live in a Fast paced world, with beeps, dings, phones, TVs, gidgets, gazmos and everything in between to keep you busy, occupied and distracted from living your life on purpose and with presence.
You are missing out on living life with and open heart and open mind.
I admit that in even though I have spent time in my personal growth and development and living life on purpose, in my everyday life I am still guilty of living life behind my screen, being focused and often present with what is happening virtually and at times missing out on what is right in front of me.
My kids even call me the social unicorn as a mom in our family when I am constantly on my phone for work, posting on social media and sharing insights, working at impacting the lives of others and still teaching how this is possible for all of you.
Can you relate? Do you experience life through a lense?
While there is a time and place for work, social media, phones and electronics, there is also a much greater need for experiencing life in experiences and adventures in real time being present and focused.
This past week we have done just that. It was a blessing in disguise for me that the wifi was not great and I didn’t have that much need to have my phone on except for taking pictures of the kids playing in the sand, surfing, chilling on the beach, drinking kids versions of strawberry daiquiris from the swim up and beach front bars and laughing and having fun together.
We ate great tasting food from the various restaurants, having a chef cook Japanese food right infront of us, involving the kids in trying to juggle an egg with a spatula over the hotgrill, to Mexican food and pizza on the beach and a fancy Italian dinner with tiramisu for dessert. Of course, I ate and drank way more than I usually would and it is also so interesting to me the whole idea of an all inclusive resort, where you can drink and eat as much as you want each day – something you wouldn’t do in your day to day existence at home.
We also took advantage of the activities on site and we went banana tubing, standup paddle boarding, lounged in the lazy river and slid down the water slides. We went out to the outer reef and went snorkeling, holding hands as we swam around and witnessed the world of the ocean come alive. I was humbled by the enormity of the vastness of the ocean which stretches for miles with no end on site, and how the Waves just keep rolling in and end up dissipating on the sand for us to walk on, creating footprints which are there for a moment and then simply disappear.
What is the mark you want to leave on the world?
It also really astounded me in how one moment I can be standing with my feet squished in the sand with the water washing over them and then within 24 hours, I could be home with my feet in my running shoes, working out on my hardwood floors with freezing rain falling from the sky.
This is exactly what vacations are all about – escaping from your real lives and living in a world of ease, fun and adventure without the worry of the world and the stresses of your every day life. It is a time to unplug, to be present and to focus on the people in your life who do matter the most in your world.
Do you take the time to go on vacation and to take a break from your stressors?
Are you one of those people who don’t take time off and who lives day in and day out without daydreaming or thinking about what it is you truly want as the monotony of your daily life sucks you in?
Do you worry that if you take your vacation time that you will have too much work to catch up on upon your return? Or do you stress that no one can do the work quite like you do and you aren’t willing to go away in case someone else steps in and screws things up, or worse takes your place?
According to research done by Project Time Off; “More than half of American workers surveyed—55 percent—left vacation days unused in 2015.” It seems to be a new trend that today, the majority of American workers not using all their vacation. Previous research by Project: Time Off showed that “42 percent of Americans were leaving vacation time on the table.”
The study also found that The workplace barriers to taking vacation reflect the fears that employees would return to a mountain of work (37%) and that no one else can do the job (30%) cited as the greatest challenges. The feeling that it is harder to take time off the higher up you get in a company also featured prominently (28%), followed by the idea that employees want to show complete dedication to their company and job (22%).
Taking vacation time can also improve your health!!
Do you live to work or work to LIVE?
A study released last year by the American Psychological Association concluded that vacations work to reduce stress by removing people from the activities and environments that they associate with stress and anxiety. Similarly, a Canadian study of nearly 900 lawyers found that taking vacations helps alleviate job stress. The effects last beyond the duration of the vacation, too: A small study from the University of Vienna found that after taking time off from work, vacationers had fewer stress-related physical complaints such as headaches, backaches, and heart irregularities, and they still felt better five weeks later.
Overall, taking time outing hitting pause by being on vacation, can be so beneficial for you in the long run.
For me, this last week has allowed me to see my husband relax and really unwind. It has created lasting memories for us as a family and it has given me time to reflect and recharge. It has allowed me to step into my energy again in impacting your life in s positive manner and in being able to give back to the world around me all while keeping my priorities straight with regards to what matters most to me and WHY I do all that I do – for time freedom with my kids.
What is your driving force, what wakes you up every morning with drive and energy and what legacy do you want to leave behind in this world when you are gone?
It is time to rethink that vacation you have been postponing, it is time for YOU to recharge and refocus.
Do you live to work or work to LIVE?
I want to see you smile, to laugh out loud, to love with all of your heart and to do the things that light you up inside. Together we can lift each other up and when we are surrounded by our tribe – we literally can FLY!
