6 Things More Important Than Your Job

Many of us have the same daily routine: We wake up, and go through the motions every morning. This usually means taking a shower, having breakfast, we then check our emails and Facebook for a few minutes, and finally we head off to work. And then? We work, and work, and work some more. For example, people in the United States work more hours per week than in almost any other country, with full time employees averaging about 47 hours per week – and that is just in the office, factory, etc.

We have become a generation that is constantly working or thinking about work. Technology has made it easier for us to be attached to the workplace all of the time, whether we are answering emails while at home at night, or getting a proposal together for the following morning, etc.

In this working-world lifestyle, it can be far too easy to get distracted by our jobs and our careers, almost to the point where we end up missing out on much of life itself. Of course, it is important to have a job – not only does it provide the obvious resources to live and help to pay the bills, but our job can also give us a sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately, and far too often those accomplishments can have a negative impact on the rest of our lives, as we focus more and more on our careers and less on ourselves and others around us.

The next time you find yourself stressed over your job, why not take a step back and think about the rest of your life, and how fulfilling it is, or could be. Check out this list of six things that are more important than your job. When you do, you just might reconsider working those overtime hours this week.

1. Family

This is at the top of the list for a good reason – family is unfortunately the first thing that usually gets affected by working too much. Not only can you miss out on spending valuable time with your family, but also you could miss important events, milestones, or even just the relaxing moments of spending quality time together. Working too much can cause a lot of tension and stress within families, and chances are, every member of your family would much rather spend more time with you, than worrying about having more money.

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it.” George Moore

2. Mental Health

It is common knowledge that jobs can be stressful, especially if you are working all of the time. That constant stress can cause you to burnout, and can affect other areas of your life. You can become tired, irritable, and if it continues, it could lead to more serious mental issues. Your mental health is far more important than a few extra hours on the job, so make sure you take a break, and clear your head. Remember your health is your wealth.

3. Physical Health

Believe it or not, ignoring your physical health becomes very easy when you are working all of the time. In office jobs especially, you are stuck at a desk all day, often times grabbing a quick bite to eat, or ordering something in. You remain inactive throughout the day, and by the time you are done; it might feel too late to fit any quality exercise in.

Sitting all day is simply not what our bodies were meant to do! If you ignore the idea of living a healthy, active lifestyle, you could be at risk of weight gain, or illness. Why not add 30 minutes of exercise into your daily routine. A short walk, a jog or perhaps some Yoga will have a massive positive effect on you both mentally and physically

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” Jim Rohn

4. Time

Time is our most valuable asset – much more so than money. If you are spending most of your time at work just to make money, you are giving up the most important resource in your life; your time. Unfortunately, time is something we can never get back, and when we spend our time doing something that doesn’t truly make us feel fulfilled, we will often look back on it with regret. So spend more time with your family or with your friends. Spend more time doing the things that you really love to do.

“Time is more value than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” Jim Rohn

5. Passions and Hobbies

With your valuable time, you are able to pursue the things that will make you happy. Everyone has different interests, passions, and hobbies, and it is so important to nourish those interests as much as possible. Some passions can allow us to feel more accomplished than our career ever will, because our passions are the things that we love to do. It is not a bad thing to love your job, but by choosing something to enjoy outside of it, is a great way of adding more color and variety into your life.

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” Oprah Winfrey

6. Personal Growth

Spending too much time worrying about your next job promotion, pay rise, or what targets and deadlines you have to meet will leave little room for actual personal growth. Getting ahead in your career is one thing, but being able to achieve your goals and set new ones in your personal life is far more important, and it will have you feeling much stronger and more fulfilled in the end.

While these six things may not pay your mortgage, or make you exceedingly wealthy, they can do wonders for you when it comes to making you feel rich in many other ways. Your mind, body, and soul simply cannot be nourished the way they should be by simply devoting your life to nothing but your work.

By choosing to allow other aspects of your life to take precedence over a job, you are really allowing yourself to live your life to the fullest, and enjoy it for what it is really worth. The old saying may be cliché, but in a world where we are working more than ever, it continues to ring true; ‘money cannot buy happiness.’ Instead, the things that we focus on and achieve outside of our day-to-day jobs are truly the things that can bring us true joy and fulfillment.