The Work/Life separation myth
Kevin Salwen over at the Worthwhile magazine blog posted about the fact that "work" and "life" innevitably overlap.
...people can no longer (if they ever could) separate out their work and their 'life.' Work is such a central part of who we are -- and consumes so much of our energy, spirit, time -- that it IS our life. But so are entertainment and family and sleep and anything else we can factor in. Simply put, it's all just our life, and things ebb and flow with importance through the course of the day.
I couldn't agree more. And taking it a step further, we often have a tendency to believe that work and non-work are two separate silos - each to be lived by what amounts to two different people. Nonsense! The reality is, we are a whole system, and everything is interconnected. We don't exist in work silos and life silos. Work is a piece of us, just as non-work life is a piece of us. The idea that we can live both without them ever touching is pure fiction.
I do a whiteboarding session where I have people make a list of things they love doing, and then we dig into the reasons why. The idea is to identify the underlying characteristics of what they love doing, not just the activities themselves (part of creating the Passion CoreSM). Often, when it comes time to choose something from their list to explore, I find them asking themselves the question, "What would be most relevant to work?" They don't want to explore the ones that they see as play.
I always have to look at them and say, now let me get this straight. Your career feels dull, lifeless, and unfulfilling, and you don't want to explore play why? When they look at it that way, it doesn't really make sense.
When you dig down to a core level of the underlying characteristics of what you love doing, the idea of work or play is irrelevant. It's just juice!
The very first time I did this with a client, the first thing he wanted to explore was Skip Barber Racing School. I had just launched my Passion Catalyst practice, and this was one of my first clients. "Oh, great!" I thought. "Shot down in flames right out of the gate!" I couldn't imagine what his experience going to the Skip Barber Racing School could possibly have to do with his career.
As it turned out, we dug into that particular subject for an hour and a half. There was an incredible amount of insight that was completely relevant to his work world. It was a great lesson for me that just because it looks like play doesn't mean it's not relevant for work.
How about you? Could your career benefit from bringing the whole picture into the picture?
Curt Rosengren
Passion Catalyst SM
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