based on the book written by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin
As humans we often think we deserve the best, and we want to achieve "the best" by buying more and more gadgets, clothes, appliances, cars, houses, vacations, memberships...but all this stuff just piles up, brings a few moments of joy, after which we are looking for the next mean of satisfying this never ending need. We put in so much effort in creating superficial happiness, but rarely align our actions with our real purpose in life: by spending our life energy on not true fulfillment we end up with less life.
We don't need more. We need ENOUGH.
Being wise about our life energy means defining what is enough for us and enjoying what we have to the maximum. Waste is ultimately our failure to enjoy the things we have.
Most of us define our JOB as our WORK, and for many: this is also our life. We tend to honor our job, but never seem to have enough time or patience for the other aspects of our life, such as self development, family, the community; like everything outside our job has lost its vitality and its value. Most of us would judge or consider failure a person who is not integrated in the 9-to-6 scheme, doesn't have some successful business, or is not set on collecting income in some way.
One of the most important questions of the book is WHETHER OUR "JOB IS USING UP OUR LIFE?"
We expect our job to fill our needs and give us meaning, respect and power, to define our personality and our direction in life. The difference between what we do and who we are stands on this thin line, which for many ends up non-existent. We give the best years of our life to work, when in fact the purpose of our paid employment is payment. Self-development, learning, fulfillment, personal growth and success are all higher purposes which we can obtain either in connection with our job or not.
The problem is our confusion between the work we do and the paid employment. Our work has a much larger purpose, and it's based on living our values. We value our self when we work efficiently, intelligently, diligently, having an excellent reputation, and maximizing our use of the limited life energy we have. Working endless hours, and settling for mediocrity is a waste of our life.
Be the best at what you do, and have a bigger purpose than a life evolving around your job: Your job is not the main event of your life!
