Jeremy at Lifestylism highlights an article arguing that Canadians are trying to hard to emulate their counterparts south of the border when it comes to how they relate to their jobs. The article’s foundation is a survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid Canada. Nothing terribly surprising here, but still it all points to some damaging trends.

Jeremy pulls this quote from the article and I think it bears mentioning again:

Benjamin Hunnicutt, a historian and professor at the University of Iowa, argues leisure time has become "trivialized" while work has been "elevated to the modern religion," a way for people to define themselves and find meaning in their lives. As a result, he says, time off can lead to a feeling of emptiness and boredom.

There is nothing wrong with including our work in the fullness of who we are. It’s all a part of an integrated livelihood. But when we allow ourselves to be consumed and allow one aspect of our lives to dominate, it can lead to the kind of hollowness that erodes the soul.

The aspect of the article I found most worrisome was the constant theme of FEAR. Unfortunately, it’s corroborated by my actual experience and observations. There are opportunities for change and growth, though. The point is that each of us are always at places for exercising choice. Once we understand that we have choices in how we live our full lives, the fear subsides.

This fear of loss…most notably, it’s the fear of losing our jobs, losing respect, losing our place on the career ladder. Our ambition can be a hungry ghost at best or a cruel master at its worst. This fear of loss is usually a room in our minds that we never visit. When we have an opportunity to walk down the hallway by the room, we usually run past never to even touch the doorknob. Why? We have no idea what will happen when we open the door. Will it be dark and horrifying? Will we get lost?

Our challenge: In our minds are many rooms that remain unexplored. What would happen if we just opened the door? What would happen if we take a step inside? What’s the worst that could possibly happen? Better yet, how might our lives be improved by taking the chance of inhabiting our darkest places for a little while? Once we choose not to fear those places, we cannot get lost.