OK folks, I know I really blew it on the NYC trip - its was so amazing, and I have only managed to get a couple of days reported. Now time is dulling it, so maybe I need to move in to the present. One of the things I am exploring in this blog is the creative process and getting along in the world, so I am sharing a currently "festering" dynamic.
I would like to explore a totally legitimate difference.
You appreciate our work, are loyal to our work, and give your best to our work, and - it is work. It is your job. You enjoy your job and "have a life". There is nothing wrong with that. I even envy that balance of work, family, play, homebuilding. You are a part of the team, and will give that extra heave-ho, but you are entitled to the rest of your life.
I need to appreciate, and intend on going forward with the understanding - that though your career is a big part of your life, it is not your entire life. You may even end up somewhere else or even a different industry by the time your career peaks. You are still young (that is a compliment, not an insult) Your job is not your entire identity. Your job is not everything you are.
Quid pro quo:
My work is everything I am. It is my entire identity. I have been clawing at it for 46 years ( I started at 4). I do not have "a life". There is no "balance" and I do not seek to find one.
My distress comes from the conflicts these two characters manifest when both at their ends.
I really need to treat people working toward a common goal with great compassion for their lives.
My crazy Quixote journey is mine to bear, not theirs.