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“Man’s ideal state is realized when he has fulfilled the purpose for which he is born. And what is it that reason demands of him? Something very easy—that he live in accordance with his own nature.”
— Seneca
Everyone is busy.
Busy creating. Busy in video calls. Busy trying to grasp onto fleeting moments with kids who, overburdened with so many activities, have limited time remaining at home before they embark upon their lives independently.
We’re all busy. But busy in service of what?
I recall observing our then-six-year-old around the time she graduated from kindergarten. She was (and still is) busy, every day.
I jokingly asked her what she does on her day off. Fully aware that she is a nonstop self-driven dynamo, she chided me: “I’m a kid — I don’t have a day off!”
How many of us are working at that kind of pace, as the lines between home and work continue to be blurred?
Who among us is focused on our well-being?
Well-being doesn’t happen by accident, nor does it happen to us. We need to turn our attention to it deliberately.
As leaders, we need to be concerned about the well-being of our employees, but we also need to be aware of our own need for well-being, for the burned-out leader is no leader at all.
This related episode of the Timeless Leadership podcast features a conversation with Deloitte’s chief well-being officer about this concept. Please be sure you’re signed up on the podcast app of your choice.
Episode 31: Well-Being with Jen Fisher
We’ve long heard about “work-life balance.” But has it been a reality for most people? In the last couple of years, burnout has become more widespread and employees are making lifestyle choices part of their job requirements.
A Perennial Issue
We tend to think that this focus on our work above all else is a recent phenomenon — a side-effect of the wondrous technology that allows us to do what we do.
Our small talk at cocktail parties (remember those?) and other social events leads us to ask the inevitable question of our confreres:
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