3 Easy to Miss Signs You’re Taking Work Way Too Seriously
We all experience them, not everyone confronts them
Morning!
Everyone have a good week?
I went to Las Vegas for the first time last weekend. It’s Friday morning and I still haven’t recovered. FML.
Here’s a piece I wrote last year. I really like the structure and the flow, but I’m wondering if the ideas still hold up. That’s the thing about creating content, sometimes you cringe at your past work. But that’s the name of the game.
See you next week!
3 Easy to Miss Signs You’re Taking Work Way Too Seriously
Here’s the heavy truth that applies to most of you.
You’ll not achieve your five-year career goals. Whatever they might be. The six-figure salary. The big promotion. The financial freedom to buy a house or travel the world.
Most of you will be left disappointed, frustrated, and wondering what the hell happened.
Why?
It’s not because you lack the passion or the willpower. Or because you chose the wrong industry. It has nothing to do with your ability or the decisions you’ve made.
You won’t reach your career goals because you’ll take your work too seriously. You’ll ignore your health and relationships for something deemed more important — your career.
You’ll burn out and quit on your goals, or endure a nervous breakdown, as the English philosopher, Bertrand Russell suggested.
“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.”
— Bertrand Russell
Is this fate avoidable? Yes.
It takes self-awareness to recognize when you’re taking your work too seriously, but if you do, you can change your life’s perspective and rediscover balance.
Here are three easy-to-miss signs that you’re taking work too seriously.
1. You think everyone undervalues you
Most people think their work is more important than everyone else’s.
Real estate agents complain their clients don’t care about them. Marketing specialists resent sales teams because CEOs give them special treatment. Dentists get pissed when no one calls them actual doctors.
Everyone feels their work is undervalued. You’re screaming into a void!
I don’t mean to get stoic-y, but I think of Marcus Aurelius whenever I’m disrespected at work.
Marcus Aurelius was the most powerful man in the world during his day. If anyone deserved more respect from co-workers, it was him. And yet, he loved writing about his insignificance compared to everything and everyone else, compared to the grand scheme of the universe.
“Do not be perturbed, for all things are according to nature of the universe, and in a little time, you will be nobody and nowhere.” — Marcus Aurelius
Don’t work for respect alone. You might find temporary motivation using that strategy, but lasting success is doubtful. Instead, work to improve yourself, or towards a good cause, or to serve others.
That’s when you care less about what others think and find respect for yourself.
2. You don’t prioritize rest
A staggering 52% of the workforce reports feeling burned out in 2021.
Bloggers often blame burnout on toxic workplace culture or poor management. While those opinions aren’t wrong, I believe some responsibility falls upon us.
What do I mean by that?
We don’t know how to rest and detach from work.
The default for most people, especially twentysomethings, is to always be available. We send emails during dinner, take calls on vacation, and cancel outings with friends and family if work-related issues arise.
That’s not detachment. That’s a constant state of stress.
The PhD psychologist Ben Hardy says, “human beings evolved needing two types of environments to succeed: high stress and high recovery.” The science is compelling clear about this. The more you push yourself at work, the more you will learn and grow, but only if your recovery is equally long and deep.
That’s why vacations, meditation, retreats, and time off are crucial to workplace performance.
If neglected, a nervous breakdown will surely follow.
3. You care too much about legacy
Work should be something you enjoy. A part of your life that pushes you beyond what you believe possible.
Most people treat work as a means to an end. They want to leave a legacy, so they can finally feel important in the eyes of others. When expectations fall short, nervous breakdowns and burnouts occur.
Much like the work itself, no legacy is worth your health and relationships.
Remember this story about Alexander the Great the next time you worry about legacy.
When Alexander was in his late twenties, he visited a tribe in India famous for its people who practiced a religion not dissimilar to Buddhism. When Alexander approached, the religious teachers beat their feet on the ground, kicking up dirt and clouding the air. Not the welcome he was expecting.
It was a powerful message to the most powerful man in the world. That even though he was busy conquering the world, one day he would die and own no more land than the ground beneath his feet. The same fate we all share.
Does legacy really matter in the end?
Ryan Holiday once wrote, “confidence is the freedom to set your own standards and unshackle yourself from the need to prove yourself.”
Another way to phrase this, confident people don’t care about legacy.
Final thoughts
When you’re engaged in your work, be 100% engaged. But don’t make your work your life. Check your ego at the door, don’t worry so much, and don’t take your work too seriously.
I’ve said this before, but think less about the outcome, strive to create more and more value every day, and learn to detach from work.
Do all those things and you have a better chance of fulfilling your career goals than if you make work your entire world.