I read a very interesting article recently called, “Family Now, Work Later: An Unconventional Approach to Happiness and Success” that cites a book written by Steven Cook, Lifeonaire, An Uncommon Approach to Wealth, Success, and Prosperity.
The introduction starts, “We are taught to believe that working hard during our ‘prime earning years’ means we get to relax and enjoy the good life later on. That’s exactly backwards, says Steve Cook.”
The article gave me food for thought because the ideology is pretty foreign to the way society was back when as a baby boomer. We were raised on the precept of putting maximum effort into work with very little at the other end to enjoy family life or take time to stop and smell the roses; quite different than the millennial generation that wants more of a work – life balance.
I think sometimes boomers sacrificed too much for too little. I chuckle when I think of the words to an old song that says, “Work your fingers to the bone and what do you get…boney fingers.” Basically, at the end of it all, if you don’t enjoy your life and family along the way and all you do is work, when it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labour in your latter years, you may be verily disappointed with the outcome. I believe no amount of money is worth trading off enjoying your family for what the almighty dollar can buy with no guarantee of a payoff at the end of it all. Death may come sooner than one thinks as there is no guarantee to an individual’s length of days, health problems may come and the family has gone.
Cook says that we trade-off our ‘youngish’ years when our kids are young buying into the narrative that working when we are young will pay off in later years, but it doesn’t always do so. Sometimes it costs us more than we think. Cook thinks a far better approach is living beneath our means, working less and spending more time enjoying life with our families. “It requires that you stop listening to what the world tells you and pay attention to what your spirit is crying out for,” says Cook.
Your kids won’t be young forever and won’t need your presence or guidance in the same way when older. He says it takes time with them as a parent, teacher, coach and friend to make a lasting positive impact.
He refers to the “more is better” lifestyle as a trap that requires much time, energy and focus so in pursuing those, something is lost in more important relationships. Cook says, “If you ask a five-year-old what they want more of, they will always choose time with you over your working more to provide something bigger.”
He offers a few suggestions as to how to prioritize your family and maybe make a change to finding a workable solution in employment that doesn’t shut off your ambition but allows you more time to make more memories; combining your vision with your values to make a better life for yourself.
I think people really need to think hard and long about their life priorities rather than being sorely disappointed with the outcome.
The full article can be read online at: https://www.fortlauderdaleconnex.com/health-news/32225-family-now-work-later-an-unconventional-approach-to-happiness-and-success.html
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
