Work Harder On Yourself Than You Do On Your Job
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One of my favorite quotes from Jim Rohn is:
Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job.
I’ve finally started getting over a few days of a nasty flu bug… the kind that takes you down and keeps you wanting to work on only one thing - getting better.
The positive side of times like these is that we really get to use the time for reflection.
One of the things that I’ve been reflecting on is…
Just what am I working on? Things that I want to work on? Or things that others want me to work on?
Just how much of what I do, or don’t do, is directly related to what others think I should, or shouldn’t, be doing?
Don’t get me wrong… in order to live with other people, their needs must be taken into account. Life in general isn’t all about me.
But my life specifically is.
For instance… because of the sickness, I haven’t been to my “day job” since Saturday. For the first couple of days, my monkey mind just kept on berating me about it - they depend on you, what’s wrong with you, come on - you can get there…
Thank god I now know better than to give in to that. Looking at the situation rationally, I knew it was best to take the time to get better.
And I have. Whatever it is that I allowed into my experience is still hanging on, but the rest that I allowed myself, along with the vitamins that I just started taking, seem to have gotten me over the hump and now I’m back on track.
So sometimes working on yourself just means identifying your own needs and taking care of them. For those of us who are used to living our lives for the needs of others (or at the very least, believing that we should be), this can be tough. But it’s something that we must learn to do if we want to create our better lives.
Another great quote from Jim Rohn:
The greatest gift you can give to somebody is your own personal development. I used to say, “If you will take care of me, I will take care of you.” Now I say, “I will take care of me for you if you will take care of you for me”.
Let’s take care of ourselves for each other.
Hi Lyman….
Oh Yes - I know that bug - In the last 2 weeks I’ve written several posts about it… So now I have made it a “famous” bug!
I, never ever, ever, ever, ever get sick — Well obviously - almost never ever!
I was supposed to go on vacation when this bug hit…. That story got changed! For me, I had to accept what was going on. OK Ellie - you got this - just go with it - allow wellness to flow through - don’t push yourself - don’t beat yourself up.
It has been an interesting 3 weeks!
Hi Lyman,
That line ‘learn to work harder…’ is great. I should learn it by heart and make it my own, as I’ve always worked harder for my job than for anything else.
Some not so long time ago I got a quite bad bronchitis. I had not had bronquitis for 20 years. That kept me home for 15 days. It was in the efforts to get better that I took up meditation and I read a book by Osho, which finally led me to read the book ‘Excuse-me, your life is waiting’, which finally led me to Today is That Day and PDP, and you know how much I enjoy & learn there.
That illness was a blessing in many senses. Meditation is part of my life now and has changed my approach to many things.
I liked this post very very much.
Patricia
We should learn to love ourself rather than our job There are some people who are “workaholic”, they always think their job, rather than thinking of themselves. How can we work well, if we don’t care of our selves first? Have some rest and relax!
Hi Lyman, it’s been a long time since my last comments =)
Thanks for sharing the quotes, it’s thought-provoking. It’s a lot emphasizing on who we are which is much more important than what we do, John Maxwell once said that reward of man’s improvement is what he becomes, not what he gets.
Work harder on ourselves so that we can help others. That sounds a great idea.
Cheers,
Robert
@Ellie - oh, yes, it was a fun bit of sickness, wasn’t it?
Of course, now I’m back to 10 - and my wife picked it up :(.
@Patricia - As you said, illnesses can be a blessing… a seed of opportunity in every difficulty. For me, it really brought me back to getting my priorities straight. I’m glad that you enjoyed the post.
@LandProjectsUK - Exactly! If we don’t take care of ourselves first, our body will remind us too… and often not in pleasant ways.
@Robert - It’s great to see you! And thank you for that John Maxwell reference… good stuff. Another (similar) thing that Jim Rohn says he learned from his mentor is that you don’t become a millionaire for the million dollars, but for what you become in doing so.
Hi Lyman,
Spending your life doing what others expect of you is not even close to living YOUR OWN life!
Personally, I only have ONE to live…and a Whole lot I have yet to experience…
Lyman,
We both know you will have less chance
being bothered by the BUG now you are on
a daily GBG 10-in-ONE Multivitamin.
But more importantly along the lines
of your post…….
Being at work is only being where you
don’t want to be. Doing what we enjoy is not “work”, even if we are providing service for Pay….Employed.
The ultimate is doing what you want to do all the time…
the beauty of being full time in a self-directed business.
Also, The Natural Laws operates such that
the More You Give, the More you Get.
Continue to spread your good word and you will
find yourself “working” less, and just doing what
you love to do, but enjoying increased abundance.
Your Readers will enjoy Visiting The Focus Society of Overachievers
@glnagy - Amen to that!
@Chuck - So true… someone once said (who is was escapes me right now) something along the lines of “If you do what you love, you’ll never have to work another day in your life.” And you’re also right about those laws - by giving more, you can’t help but receive!
if you work harder on your job than you do to yourself, i think you are bound to fail cos your body wont be able to carry your job at the long run.
Ha! Edunwa!
I’m experiencing something different right now (though I also agree with you):
Since Lyman posted this post, I really made the line mine and I’ve had my head and soul and body devoted to myself more than to my job. And the result has been that I’ve become a much worse employee since then! I forget things from work, I can’t really focus much on boring stuff, etc.
So, what you say is true, but also can be: “if you work harder on yourself than on yr job… your mind won’t be able to carry yr job in the long run.
Great points to ponder, edunwa and Patricia! I’ve been there plenty of times myself, but never thought about that quote in quite that way. Thanks!