Stress

My parents were immigrants who came to Australia with nothing after having escaped the war in Europe.

They worked incredibly hard to buy a house and put their two sons through school. But they never lost sight of the fact that they too had lives to live. My dad always wondered about the immigrants who came to Australia, worked and worked and worked, saved and saved and saved, and then dropped dead, never having enjoyed the joys Australia had to offer.

Our generation works and works and works. Mobile phones, Blackerry's, and portable laptops mean that we do not stop working nights, weekends, even when we are on vacation.

Why?

Our health suffers. Our family suffers. Our stress levels go through the roof. So we accumualte money, get big houses, buy great stuff, and then we die.

I am not against hard work.

But I think we have blurred the line between work and play/relaxation. Our wives or husbands or significant others need us. Our kids need us. Our friends need us. We need all of them. We need ourselves (quality time for "me").

A lot of us have seen the world via the Discovery Channel or National Geographic. But we have more money than our parents!! So what is wrong with this picture?

Balance!!! Balance!!! Balance!!!

Work hard when it is time to work and earn money. Relax and enjoy your free time. When we are dead we will have plenty of time on our hands - unfortunately we won't be able to use it to increase the quality of our lives or the lives of our loved oned.