Artsy
07-11-02, 06:19 PM
Week Four Dr. Phil homework:
Question: Am I lazy?
I HATE this question; it is one I constantly ask myself. I am afraid to be a lazy person. Unfortunately the answer is complex. In certain situations I am lazy. I am lazy when I hang around the house. I am not one of those people constantly working in the garden (sorry neighbours) or working inside the house. At work, I am very focused, "on task" and productive. In every job I have had, I work long hours, many of them unpaid just to get a sense of satisfaction about the quality of my work. I am kind of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on the lazy front. Workaholic about work and a slob at home. I also tend to be cyclical on the work/rest thing. When I have an interesting, open-ended job that I am into, I can drive myself, working 50-55 hours a week every week, some years not even taking a holiday. Then, when the job gets too much, I crash and I can spend days lying on the couch recovering. Bottom line, I am not a moderate person by nature. I am either switched on and madly productive or switched off and, well, lazy. I wish I was more moderate...I suspect I wouldn't have a food problem if I could be moderate.
Question: Am I simply not requiring enough of myself?
Hmmm...right at this time I might not be requiring enough of myself. I have to admit to coming very close to burnout on a career I left 4 years ago and I never, ever want to put so much of my heart and soul into work again. I don't want to drive myself day and night like I used to do. Just the other day I told my husband how nice it was to be able to have down time. I need my down time, and since I have down time now, by definition I could be driving myself harder than I am doing. I know I could, because I have done it for sustained periods in the past. My problem is, I don't want to be one of those people anymore.
Question: Am I lazy?
I HATE this question; it is one I constantly ask myself. I am afraid to be a lazy person. Unfortunately the answer is complex. In certain situations I am lazy. I am lazy when I hang around the house. I am not one of those people constantly working in the garden (sorry neighbours) or working inside the house. At work, I am very focused, "on task" and productive. In every job I have had, I work long hours, many of them unpaid just to get a sense of satisfaction about the quality of my work. I am kind of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on the lazy front. Workaholic about work and a slob at home. I also tend to be cyclical on the work/rest thing. When I have an interesting, open-ended job that I am into, I can drive myself, working 50-55 hours a week every week, some years not even taking a holiday. Then, when the job gets too much, I crash and I can spend days lying on the couch recovering. Bottom line, I am not a moderate person by nature. I am either switched on and madly productive or switched off and, well, lazy. I wish I was more moderate...I suspect I wouldn't have a food problem if I could be moderate.
Question: Am I simply not requiring enough of myself?
Hmmm...right at this time I might not be requiring enough of myself. I have to admit to coming very close to burnout on a career I left 4 years ago and I never, ever want to put so much of my heart and soul into work again. I don't want to drive myself day and night like I used to do. Just the other day I told my husband how nice it was to be able to have down time. I need my down time, and since I have down time now, by definition I could be driving myself harder than I am doing. I know I could, because I have done it for sustained periods in the past. My problem is, I don't want to be one of those people anymore.