You’ve probably heard it over and over that we are a culture that lives and dies by our phones. I try not to be, but now even my watch vibrates when I get an e-mail, text, Facebook message or, it seems, for no reason at all, like my phone knows it’s being neglected so my watch vibrates with no alert appearing and causes me to pick it up. Because we are so attached to our phone the line that should exist between work and life gets blurred, if not completely erased.
As a woman, we have many ‘careers’ that we juggle moms, career women, wives… each area requiring something different from us. Of course we love the role that goes along with them, but at times we can feel out of balance. If our career demands so much of us and continues to take up too much time our other jobs will be neglected. We wont have the time for our families like we should and too often will be so burnt out by work, that we end up mentally drained and that impacts our ability to care for anything else.
Occupational wellness is the ability to live out a balance between work and leisure time. It focuses on understanding our calling and involves exploring various career options and finding our best fit so that our talents and gifts can shine. A career that allows your gifts to shine, will have it’s challenges, but the fact that you’re part of a purpose and a mission of integrity, will give you the desire to press through the challenges even when the road gets a bit rocky.
Examine your current job/jobs. Do they, in spite of challenges, make you feel like you have the ability to make a difference? Or does it lead you to stress, feel anxious, indulging in drinks, over eating, neglecting family and friends, loosing sleep or keeping you from your hobbies? Most of our waking lives, as adults, is spent at work. If our career leads to the latter, you’re dreams, passions, goals and passion are being suffocated. Find a balance between work and fun – take hold of the other areas of wellness listed in this blog series and set fire to your internal passions again and walk them out in every area of your life.
Tips to help you improve your Occupational Health:
- Learn your personal likes and dislikes
- Create a personal mission statement (see blog The Me in Family)
- Make the most of your days at work by learning how your career aligns with your personal talents and mission
- Set career goals and work toward them
- Keep learning
- Find ways to disconnect with work and connect with families or hobbies
- unplug from technology
Be sure that what you’re doing every day is adding value to your life. That you’re working for a purpose and not a dollar.
Leave a Reply