If You’re Obsessed with Work Ask Yourself This Question
If You’re Not Obsessed Ask It Anyway
The young woman squared away her love of work as passion.
“I’m lucky,” she said, and it was true. She adored her work. She was a Golden Girl on a Golden Ladder in a Gold-Raking marketing agency, aglow with the challenge, brimming with ideas. She was living the dream.
“That’s good,” I said, because it truly is good (and quite rare) to see someone who loves their work that much. But because she’d come to therapy for difficulties in her relationship we had more to talk about.
After a while I encouraged her to reflect on one of my favourite questions, the one I think we should all have taped to our fridge doors.
“Am I fun to live with?
She stared at me, blank-eyed. When her answer came, it was full of uncertainty, a sharp contrast to the way she’d spoken about her career.
“I don’t know what I’m like to live with. I mean, I’ve never thought about it. Maybe I need to?”
How do I know when it’s too much?
People have many valid reasons for immersing themselves in work. The challenge. The excitement. The creative outlet. The self-esteem spike from being hugely…
