Mindset
The essence of the Labor Day holiday in North America is the effective celebration of our devotion to work, and the acknowledgment that after work comes rest.
When you delve into the history, the holiday began in the late 1800s with a push from the working class to honor their effort to create the foundation of society, a shout-out to the blue-collar.
Over time, it has grown to mean the end of summer, and the beginning of the school year, for most a chance to regroup before the fall/winter is upon us.
The holiday has blended into all the other holidays on the map, a chance for some to reap the benefits and respite of a three-day weekend.
For others, the unfortunate reality is that the holiday is likely a blip on the radar screen of the grind.
Throughout the last few years, I’ve noticed more and more as I spend time in the back of taxis and now UBERs on my occasional trips to teach or consult, that more and more of the drivers of these vehicles do it not as a main thing, but mainly as a third or fourth thing!
Side hustle, plus, plus!
Just in the time that I have been on this earth, we’ve gone from one-salary families to two-salary families, and now multi-salary/sources families. When does it stop?
Governments get blamed for policy decisions, the rich get blamed for establishing capitalistic bullseyes like the stock exchange and consumerism.
But the truth lies somewhere in our guts and our minds. Our need to succeed, defined by a greater force that has existed for millennia, that accumulation and wealth are the objective measures of success.
What house we have, what title we have, what car we drive, what phone we carry, what computer we use, what clothes we wear, what restaurants we eat at…….it goes on and on.
There’s always another level, there’s always something more or better.
We find ourselves running faster and faster on a treadmill that has no limit.
Just think back to the 2008 economic implosion, the Dow was under 12,000 points, 20,000 seemed like the Mount Everest of market possibilities, and yet here we are 16 years later and we’re over 40,000 points!
I was talking to some friends who work in the pharmaceutical industry. The common theme is being salaried to do one job, but effectively managing the workload of two!
In a business world where the profit is incredible, and the supposed modus operandi is better human health (NOT!). I was kind of shocked that the corporate end game was not better working standards or care for the health and wellbeing of the employees, but rather how can we squeeze more juice out of the lemon?
But we don’t realize that we self-determine this reality. We expect our end-of-year returns on our investments, we want the next level of the ladder, and we aspire to the grass is greener effect.
Our inability to be in the present and to be grateful for that which we have rather than pining for what we have not is the ultimate driver of this phenomenon.
We can blame it on the big bad world outside, but we are the drivers, not the backseat passengers.
Think about it. Catch yourself the next time you are sitting on a park bench, back deck, or patio, chilling.
Do you see the color of the sky? Do you hear the birds chirping? Do you feel the wind blow past your cheek? Do you sense the temperature, the sun upon your face?
Or do you look down at your phone, and check the messages of variable sort?
The next time you are out with a good friend or relative, and you are chatting at the table, catching up.
Do you hear what they are saying? Do you see what they are feeling on their face? Do you listen to their thoughts, or do you listen to your own?
Worse, do you find yourself picking up your phone and scanning for nothing? But it’s something important, right?
Maybe I’m preaching to the choir and you’ve got it sorted out. You are likely one of the few. And if that’s the case, I apologize for the sermon.
For most these days though, it’s become our nature, our need. We’re obsessed with what we don’t have.
On this occasion of contemplation called Labor Day, take a moment to contemplate rest, what it feels like, what it means, and why it should mean more.
If you struggle with this, or the balance of life, I begin my next cohort of the LYM Life Lab in mid-September, have a look here and consider joining me on this journey called life!
Registration closes September 6th.
