14 DAY TRIAL // He/she's got 30 and a professional status which allows him/her to mortgage without fear, to see the world and enjoy the latest in technology and leisure.
He/she is one of the few in his/her generation who has achieved what he/she craved for. To be a "key-element" in an international company that spoils him/her while sucking his/her blood.
But he/she enjoys it.
So many wish they were in his/her place now that a crisis is approaching or we are already in it. He likes to be seen, he is loyal to his company, that he invests energy, time and neurons in it.
It doesn't matter that the work goes on till morning or that he has to travel and work till the weekend. He's secretively proud of his condition of "workaholic". He does not expect less of himself and he has a good image in the society.
Opposite to those who feel themselves trapped against their will by the impossibility of saying no, the young executive enjoys his work and the advantages that this brings him.
But the workaholic is much more complex that it looks. He does not work just to escape, neither for the advantages he gets.
His/Her inner motivations are numerous, like:
- He/she is incapable of relaxing himself/herself, he/she needs tasks to accomplish. When he/she has finished one, he/she already has another in his/her head.
_ He/she feels he/she must do it, even if he/she does not feel like that. He/she's afraid to stop.
_ He/she's so accustomed to do what is expected from him/her that he/she does not even know what he/she wants and needs for himself/herself.
_ His/her self esteem is based on his/her perception on how the others value his/her work and other aspects of his/her life.
_ He/she often betrays himself/herself by accepting the demands of those he/she regards as "authority".
_He/she does not know the true serenity.
_ He/she wants to understand anything about his/her life, till the most insignificant emotions. He/she's afraid of losing control. That's why he/she refuses to express his/her emotions.
_ He/she values himself/herself through his/her achievements. That's why he/she needs the recognition of his/her colleagues and superiors to feel good.
_ He/she believes that if he/she proves extremely competent he/she will be more appreciated. That's why he/she tends to involve himself/herself in more tasks than he/she can accomplish.
_ He/she hides his/her failures and exaggerates his/her successes by fear of losing the respect of the others.
How could a workaholic treat himself/herself?
_ By accepting himself/herself. By not using his/her work as a method of achieving approval, finding his/her own identity or justifying his/her existence.
_ Not avoiding his/her own sentiments. Being conscious of his/her own necessities and wishes.
_ Not being careless about his/her health, relationships, leisure and spirituality. Doing activities not related to his/her work.
_ Maintaining the spontaneity, creativity and flexibility. Abandoning organizing and planning all in his/her life. Learning to live with the uncertainty.
_ Not creating artificial stress situations at work by the necessity of maintaining the adrenaline.
_ Not accumulating work tasks to ensure himself/herself against boredom. Not being afraid of vacations and spare time.
_ Not transforming the home in a branch of the office.
_ Not planning and making too many things at a time. Coercion is the enemy of pleasure. Returning to enjoy the work.
_ Not believing himself/herself indispensable, learning to delegate the others. Accepting the errors as life lessons.
_ Not believing that any activity must have an objective. Eliminating the guilt sentiments for not working.
_ Enjoying the process more than of the results, quality more than quantity.
_ Not being preoccupied by the image of "busy". Forgetting the conviction that this could bring the admiration of the others. Learning to gain his/her own approval.