A Cause of Problems

I genuinely think that it’s this type of ‘protestant work ethic’ (other phrases are available for other countries) that has caused so many problems with stress of both body and mind. Societies around the world only seem to value hard work and exhausting oneself. We are not seen as having tried hard enough if we don’t go to bed exhausted every night.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I know the value of working hard and doing a good job, but over 30 years of teaching English to non native speakers often left me with nothing to give in other areas of life. I was often too exhausted to have a really enjoyable holiday as the cumulative stresses only started to diminish by the time I was going back to work!

A job is just one part of my life, but for decades I was forced to make it the central part, despite being desperate to make my family that central part. I only really started to rebel against that in my final couple of years by point blank refusing to work at weekends and only working into the evening where I had no other choice. The really hard work should have gone into my family life, but that was only possible for the two or three years where I was a house husband. They were the most rewarding times of my life in so many ways and they will be the template for the rest of my life I hope.

So, hard work for someone else doesn’t make me fulfilled, because they don’t appreciate it when they are raking in the profits. The higher ups just assume it’s their own brilliance rather than the efforts of their workers. The only hard work that makes me fulfilled is the hard work I will now put into my relationships with those around me, and I would advise you to set those boundaries and try to do the same before you get to my age!