I once went to University of Pennsylvania’s medical school, one of the world’s best, with severe chronic back pain.
Years ago, I had injured my back. It was a payback for all the long hours of working while ignoring my fitness. The MRI clearly showed the damage to multiple discs.
The therapist at Penn told me to do the usual exercises etc., but none of it made a difference. Finally, much later, what solved the problem was something much more simple – joining the gym.
Once I started running and strength training, the pain went away (for the most part). I wish some doctor had told me that earlier.
Fitness is not a cure-all for every health issue but it comes pretty close.
However, what I find shocking is that even today, we make such heavy demands on employees that they have little time or energy left for pursuing fitness.
By denying employees the chance to live a balanced life, we are taking away something that never belonged to us. You shouldn’t have to barter away your youth hoping to make up in middle or old age.
I am not advocating not working hard but hard work need not translate into insanely long working hours. This belief that long hours automatically create a lot of value is humbug.
In software firms that follow extreme productivity (XP), the employees are so drained after 8 hrs of work, that the only thing they can do is sleep. Now, of course, other jobs are not as intense as coding but people slog day and night because they are not focused and lack clear priorities.
If you work by checking your messages/email every 5 minutes, focus is impossible. And I absolutely mean no disrespect to anyone by saying this.
Over time, this becomes the company culture. And challenging it can become a career-ending move.
I have been in insane jobs and I have realized that no amount of money, brand, or even learning can compensate for burning your life away.
I am not a big believer in life after death. The only life is now. Live it or give it a pass — your choice.
– Rajan