Control Your Life

"You'll get asked to do so much, that you'll get so tired, that your judgment will get impaired. You will not be as smart or as good as you are if you've got your fingers in everything." These are the words [according to Dan Le Batard] that Bill Simmons of The Ringer shared with him during a personal conversation between the two regarding their employer, ESPN, and the direction the company was going in with respect to their futures in media. There is so much context to this i've left out, however for the moment I wish to hone in on the quote, because I woke up the morning of this writing with it heavily on my mind.

I began the morning with the following question, which was really worth pondering: If I tallied all the money i've made over a given time period and looked back at all the toil, stress, frustration, challenges, mishaps and setbacks I suffered during that time period to make that money, can I really say it was worth it? More specifically I had a follow-up, which was: how much money could be given to me, for me to consider myself free and happy? To that point, it made me realize at the end of the day I just want to have my expenses paid off and enough flexibility to do the things i'd like to enjoy. However, I am not willing to go through another several years of stress, challenges, troubles and dire circumstances that have a better chance of setting me back more than moving me forward, and endangering my health in the process; it is not worth the loss of my life just to make ends meet, and continue to chronically waste away precious life essence over a paycheck that will come up just short of paying the bills.

What am I saying in all of this? I'm saying we should all [re]think how we approach work, and more specifically how we approach taking on the tasks our superiors at work press upon us. That quote posted earlier came up during a conversation on how Stephen A. Smith, arguably an icon in today's sports media, just does so much work for the company and goes on every show covering multiple sports, to the point where he's exhausted and finds himself saying things he may regret later. People, don't let your employers do this to you. Don't have your employers working you so hard and so much to where you taint your own model of consistency. We love our jobs and love our bosses - maybe more than we realize, but fact is they have an obligation to the company, the firm, the business, to keep you working hard. You, meanwhile have an obligation to yourself; you must protect your interests and for that matter, your health. Take charge of your own work-life balance; don't hand it to your employers just to make ends meet. They say "work smart, not hard"...I ask that you think smart, not hard. Let your curious, mysterious mind thrive and lead you into a place in life where even making ends meet can be accomplished. Your focal point won't be to pay the bills or 'get by;' it'll be the pursuit of freedom, liberty and happiness, but first take control of your life!

This article was written by C3D for CollegeWorld, LLC.

Control Your Life