Are You An Addict? (Part II)
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Are YOU an ADDICT? (Part II)
Disclaimer:
Not being a psychologist or having any such training, I don’t profess any official knowledge or basis on the content of this article.
But I DO know what I feel… I DO know what I’ve observed… and I DO know what I successfully used to manipulate and control subordinates, supervisors, and peers in my former positions.
So I DO know basically how it works and the effect it has on people’s lives.
In addition, in Part I, I stated that “I am an addict”… That being said, I do honestly speak from the point of personal experience on the subject as being a “Recovering Workaholic”.
To briefly recap Part I, we saw that a mental addiction, is usually a repeated compulsive habit taken to the extreme. And that it is or may be considered harmful to the individual and/or those associated with him or her.
In the previous paragraph, I used the word “compulsive” regarding a habit… More simply put I’m referring to a habit that one feels an extremely strong mental “need” to repeat.
I like to use the word “addiction” because of the obviously strong “sensational” effect it has on the reader.
And it’s much easier to relate to than an obsessive compulsive disorder.
I stated that I thought was just “going along with the crowd”… and that “crowd”… was literally millions strong… including my parents, family, neighbors, friends, and so on.
That “crowd” by the way, is the generation called the “Baby Boomers” and their prodigy…
You see, WE were “conditioned” with the mindset equation of:
Good education + Good JOB (Big Company) + Work Hard (Stay, Be Loyal) = Success
And when I said “conditioned”, I meant exactly that. (Conditioning is basically considered a simplified form of implanting a process in the brain, e.g.: Ring Bell – Dog gets food… Ring Bell – Dog gets food… Ring Bell – Dog salivates in expectation of getting food… Dog is “conditioned” that when he hears the bell, he will get food)
Being exposed to that particular formula day in and day out, by family, friends, relatives, teachers, mentors, professors, co-workers… etc., etc. only serves to implant the mindset so deeply in your subconscious that your every thought is geared toward that end.
So obviously, without a doubt… You believed that “This IS ABSOLUTELY THE RIGHT THING TO DO!”
As I said… We were “conditioned”… Ring Bell (Good Education… Good Job… Work Hard…) = Get Food
And that conditioning, that addiction becomes so strong as to exclude everything and everyone in your life, except of course what satisfies the addiction.
At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, the nasty little secret about the “workaholic addiction” scenario is that it was actually planned, orchestrated, and very carefully cultivated over many years. And it continues today before your very eyes.
By whom? You might ask. Well that one’s pretty simple… by practically every successful large business, as well as every government agency around. And perhaps even by YOU in your business or family.
Example:
You’re a business owner or a manager… of the Baby Boomer Generation.
You’ve got 2 employees working under (for) you. One who is “workaholic”, and one who just does his job really well.
It’s pretty much a “no brainer” which one is going to get the better evaluation, the better raise… or conversely which one I will “keep” at lay-off time, is it!
For those of you who said “Gee that’s a tough one”, I’d have to say you’re thinking is more like an “employee” than a company or government officer…
A clue… “Your guy or gal” is the one who will do just about anything, anytime, anyplace…. The one who is totally devoted to his work, and nothing else!,.. to the exclusion of any
Sure… today’s workers are now smarter and better educated. But the point is that the “workaholic” will be the “chosen one” for the job… actually starting with the “Inverview” phase.
(For higher level jobs you are typically Pre-Interviewed by phone, Interviewed in person by a panel of folks, given several tests that reveal who and what you are all about… and then placed in a pool of “eligible’s” .)
So at that point the company, for the most part KNOWS more about your behavior than YOU do!
And IF you display those cherished “workaholic tendencies”… you actually have an “edge”. The opposite side of the coin is if you exhibit “family and ME are my #1 priority”.
Doesn’t sound quite fair does it!
Clue: “Fair” in the serious business world is a word whose true definition is determined by a Lawyer… not a dictionary!
Now I may sound like a total “anti-corporate” case… but I’m not. It’s just that coming from that arena allows one to “see” the “truth” that one is paid substantially to “mask”.
So here are some “bottom lines” for your survival… (Pick one or all that you like and use it):
- “You’ll NEVER get rich working for anyone but yourself”
- “You usually get one family, one life. Never sacrifice either for a ‘JOB’”.
- “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
- “Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.
- “Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.”
- “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already KNOW what you truly want to become… Everything else is secondary.”
Some good reference material on the symptoms and such may be found: “ADDICTED TO WORK… BEING A WORKAHOLIC Recovering from Workaholism”
So even if you’re NOT a Workaholic… Even if you don’t believe in such an addiction… at least your mind is now awake to a few more possibilities where YOU MIGHT BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF… so that you might avoid, confront, or fend them off.
The most tremendous disadvantage of being “addicted to work” for any reason is that of “being taken advantage of” by the unscrupulous. When you work for yourself, at least YOU have most of the control over your life.
Let me show you what Freedom is really like!….
“Don’t Quit your day job”…
You may need something to do in your spare time!
Until The Next Article,
Dave Dubrawsky
Founder DKM&M Enterprises
Personal Website:
Personal Blogsite: /dusky
Personal E-Mail: dave.dubrawsky@gmail.com