One of the many benefits of longer term therapy is the clarity gained on what is most important in your life. This is especially true for people who have invested most of their personal time in activities designed to reach academic and career goals. The merits of sustained effort in achievement at school and work are multifold, worthy of affirmation and praise, and usually, well-compensated financially. Our society is structured to reward the hardworking efforts of its members, to advance individuals whose talents, attitudes, and work ethic support progress and productivity, and to support them once retired. It is often during the transition to retirement that people reassess the stuff of life and those aspects that are the most meaningful and important to them.
The period of rapid change created by Covid also offers you the opportunity to reflect on the stuff of life, and to take stock on what, if anything needs to change in order to enjoy those aspects that matter to you most. This opportunity to reflect is perhaps, one of the few positive outcomes of the pandemic. There were countless individuals who rose to the challenges of human service work during the pandemic despite risk of harm to self. There were several others who adapted rather quickly to the continued economic demands for work in corporate contexts albeit in increasingly isolated ways. Thankfully during this period, many hard workers sustained and, in some cases, grew the economic engine locally and globally, thereby ensuring that life as you knew it before Covid would be waiting for you once it was safe to resume activities with other people.
Unfortunately, there were also many people who were laid-off or lost work during the pandemic due to mandated social restrictions. Despite the many efforts of local government to respond financially, some businesses have not recovered. Some individuals who lost work unexpectedly found this transition to life without a monetizing role in it, somewhat traumatic. They lost their capital means to survival and had to access savings, or governmental programs in order to make ends meet. This double loss of purpose and wages in tandem with a prolonged period of social isolation from family and friends had harmful effects on health and wellness.
Now that the crisis of Covid is fading away, you have the opportunity to reflect on the stuff in your real life that brings you joy, a sense of peace and fulfillment. You also have the opportunity to review your work-life balance and to assess whether any adjustments are required. You may find that, like many people, your life is mostly about work and that your real life– the things you do after work have been put on hold. Healthy capitalist societies encourage, affirm, and reward excellence and grow people who are achievement oriented. High achievers run the risk of over-working and as such require a well developed healthy habit mobilization plan that sustains health over the long term.
Your real life activities – those things you prefer to do after work ought to be part of this plan. Invest in the good stuff in your life on a regular basis. This may be as simple as:
- A daily walk with friends.
- Enjoying a favourite healthy meal, and savouring every morsel.
- Celebrating important milestones with family.
- Attending a weekly yoga class.
- Participating in a book club.
- Walking with a loved one by a lake or in nature.
It is really important to establish activities that nurture your sense of joy and connection to others in your real life and on your time off work, so that your professional identity does not become the only way you view yourself or know how to be in the world.
So, ask yourself, what is the stuff of life that fills me up, and means the most to me, and how will I make these people, activities, and practices sacred in my life. Start today, so that you have a healthy tomorrow.
By Lisa Romano-Dwyer PhD, RSW
