You have probably heard of or read Timothy Ferriss’ book “4 Hour Workweek”. And you probably know people who claim to work 70 to 80 hours a week. Most people – like you and me – work between 40 and 50 hours. We still very often define ourselves by the number of hours we “work”: the more we work, the more important we are.
While Timothy’s 4-hour week remains utopian for 99.9% of people, many of us suffer from the high number of hours we work for the company. And then I come along and tell you about 365 days of holiday, despite having a job! How is that possible?
It is possible! I personally have 365 days of holiday a year, despite numerous professional commitments. And I recommend that you follow this path. What does this path look like?
Holiday means acting independently
Years ago, I realised that for many people, their holiday starts about 2,000 km from home, for example on the beach on the Pacific coast. I am not talking about this type of holiday in this article. For me, a holiday means acting independently. Would you consider it a holiday if I booked a trip to the Amazon jungle or Mount Everest for you? I doubt it!
For many people, holidays in contrast to work mean doing things as you please. But what if you could organise your work according to your own preferences? Many of you will say: That’s not possible for me! Right.
There are three options:
- You change your work environment to suit your needs.
- You change to a different job
- You find a positive aspect in what you do
The first option requires a lot of self-confidence and a rather flexible environment. This is not always the case. In my professional life, I have mostly managed to make a small change. It is an interesting exercise because it requires a willingness to compromise and understanding; both very interesting aspects of the work.
In the sense of Reinhard Sprenger’s ‘The decision is yours’, you can opt for the second option. This can be done once. If you do it more often, you will become a job hopper and these are not exactly in demand today. A certain amount of consistency is expected in companies. Here you should ask yourself whether a change is really the solution. From time to time, changing your own mindset is more likely to be the solution.
What you absolutely must not do is work against your psyche!
The third option requires the ability to ‘think positively’, i.e. to see the positive aspects of your work. If you can’t find anything, you can end up saying, ‘This is where I get the money to support my family and my personal life.’
What you should never do is work against your psyche! There always has to be a positive aspect to what we do. Otherwise, it’s like constantly banging your head against a wall. That won’t do you any good in the long run. Working against yourself is one of the main causes of burnout.
When I look at customers, colleagues and acquaintances, I get the impression that in Germany we work more out of a sense of duty and less out of choice. I always hear: ‘I have to do this!’ I prefer to say: ‘I want to do it.’ It’s much easier for the psyche to accept this state of mind.
Simply enjoy your daily work!
Happy people are those who accept what happens to them. Even the unpleasant things.
A friend of mine is (almost) always in a good mood. Why? He filters out the unpleasant things. His way of expressing himself is always positive. He laughs a lot (has a sense of humour) and draws the good out of people (colleagues). He doesn’t let the unpleasant things get to him and enjoys the positive things, of which there are always some.
Am I telling you a fairy tale here? No. This is everyday life. Just enjoy your professional life!