Yet, behind closed doors, you wonder if maintaining this status and wealth is worth the sacrifice you’ve made in your personal pursuit of happiness.
You’re eating poorly and sleeping poorly. You spend almost all of your time working. Your physical and emotional health are already beginning to suffer from the lack of downtime and self-care.
Is this existence inevitable? Does career success always require sacrificing personal well-being?
Although painful, these private emotions are the catalyst for the positive change you’ve been seeking. Let this uncertainty inspire you to take back control of your life.
You have to keep many plates spinning at once, with the constant fear of them crashing down. You’re balancing long hours, endless deadlines, unrealistic expectations, and the pressure of upholding diligence on any serious issues that crop up.
The delicate preservation of workplace relations also needs to be balanced, whether it’s with your manager, subordinate, vendor, client or colleague.
You’re at the top of your game, but you’re stretched too thin. You have the capability to climb even higher but you can’t shake off the uneasy feeling that perhaps this isn’t what you want.
You often feel lonely but lack the energy to socialize and maintain conversations. You are bored and restless but lack the time and motivation to do anything but work. In the limited hours you have to yourself, you scroll social media aimlessly or binge watching shows to distract yourself from the emptiness inside.
You wonder if you can continue striving for greater success if it means feeling unhappy every single day.
You may be feeling that the ideal of “success” you’ve been striving for all these years that just don’t quite stack up. Why am I unhappy when I appear to be doing well at work? Why do I feel the need to throw it all away in search of something better if this is what really constitutes success?
Do any of these feel familiar?
It may be painful to keep carrying on but it could hurt even more to let it all go. Thankfully, life is much more nuanced than a single choice between two extremes.You can move towards greater freedom without losing everything you’ve earned.
Our society places a strong emphasis on productivity and performance, often at the expense of happiness. Success is tied to work and we’re conditioned to prioritise career achievement over personal growth.
We feel guilty for taking time off and this leads to burnout and a lack of fulfilment outside of work.
As human beings, we have two essential requirements for a fulfilling life – freedom and belonging. Unfortunately, our pursuit of societal success tends to sacrifice one for the other, neglecting our values and contentment.
As your inner equilibrium balances, you will have more control over your life, allowing you to seek out the things that bring you joy.
You will have the time to focus on activities that nourish you – exercising, eating well and getting quality sleep.
You will have the headspace to cultivate new friendships and deepen connections with loved ones. The energy to explore new passions and rediscover forgotten interests.
With more headspace, it will be easier to live more authentically according to your own values and aspirations.
Your new perspective on your priorities will empower you to respect your well-being by setting healthy boundaries. No more saying yes to endless requests, no more constant checking of emails, no more compromising your personal growth for career advancement.
Assess if your job supports your life goals. This will help you make informed decisions about how to balance work with other areas of your life. Your job should support your life, not the other way around.
Discover your personal goals with these steps:
Reflecting on your passions and strengths gives you an indication of the kind of work that you would find fulfilling. Meanwhile, envisioning your perfect life gives you a roadmap you can work towards.
In Existential Therapy, exhaustion and frustration caused by work are indicators that your life is out of balance. Often, the pressure to achieve societal success through career advancement can overshadow yourself-care and personal goals. While your professional success may rise, your personal growth can suffer.
With Existential Therapy, you are empowered to realise your own path instead of following society’s norms.
You will be able to balance your unique identity with your need for acceptance and pursue your own aspirations to live an authentic life. The existential approach will help you reclaim your inner equilibrium and navigate freedom and belonging in a success-driven world. It’s entirely possible to achieve success and fulfilment without sacrificing your health and happiness. Make that your reality today.
