Sit Back Take It Slow Let The Good Time Roll

Those are the words of wisdom the great Steve Stifler from the American Pie movies. While that was a line he was using on the women he was attempting to pick up, and was inappropriate,  I think we should all head that advice at times. (I like the Stifler character, he has some great lines).

Don't Live you life on Social Media.

What I mean by that life goes by very fast and while technology has made our life easier, it also has enabled everyone to be on all the time and many people are tied to a computer or device. Many have a fear of missing out also known a FOMO. Many are worried about the latest tweet, facebook post, etc. Many also get jealous viewing others posts, which in most cases is portraying the life they want you to see, not what it actually is. Don't worry about what others are doing. Most of the time you will find it is a carefully portrayed image and most of it is BS. Don't let fake news or enhanced posts affect your happiness.

Also if you are on vacation, be on vacation. I have seen way to many people concerned about getting the perfect picture for the perfect post, by doing this, they miss out on the beauty around them and connecting with the people they are with. I have been guilty of this from time to time and I missed out.

Put Down the Electronic Devices

My first piece of advice is to put the electronic device down once in a while. You can miss a text, a tweet a post and it will not kill you. Also you do not need to have the device next to your bed, that just leads a bad habit. If you are eating a meal with your family, put your device down. The text, tweet post will be waiting for you later and you will be present and focused on your family. You will find it freeing if you can do this, you will be much more relaxed.

Don't Overwork, Work will be waiting for you tomorrow.

I have been guilty of this my entire career. I also believe it has become much more of a problem since the start of Covid-19 and work from home. You are always available, so it makes it easy to keep working and people expect it.  While at times you are going to have to work longer to finish a project or fix a down system, don't make this the norm. Set a time to stop work each day and go for a walk, go to the YMCA or whatever else you desire. This will help establish a break from work to something other than work.

In technology it is also easy to feel your skills are getting outdated so you focus on learning something new. While this is important and you need to spend some off hours sharping the knife, don't make this the primary use of your off-time. You will certainly learn new skills, but you will also become boring. You will also probably not be as close with your wife/life-partner and children as you could be.

Enjoy the Experience Don't control it

If you are on vacation or out, enjoy the experience, don't control it. Who cares if it takes a few extra minutes to get a seat at the bar, does it make that big of a difference. My point relax when you are out and enjoy the experience. My wife and I were in Paris on vacation and when out to a Paris restaurant to enjoy dinner. The thing about dining in Paris is it is an experience and it usually takes at least two hours. We witnessed other American's getting irritated at how long the service was or asking if they had an english menu. They forgot to enjoy the experience (and proved how ignorant some people are). I have seen many examples of this and I just tend to shake my head.

Live Life Before it's to Late

Finally, you just need to live life a bit before it is too late. Recently, I have some friends who both had health issues and are young (they are health people, just had some bad stuff happen to them). It makes you think, if you have health issues or if it is time for the dirt nap did you enjoy life or did you just work. If you did just work, what did you gain for it? You can't take money with you when you take the dirt nap and no amount of money can restore your health. So if you have enough money, make sure you are enjoying it a bit. I don't mean don't save or be financially responsible, but live a little. Spend some of your moldy money.

You also don't need money to live life, there are many awesome opportunities outdoors with the Wisconsin State Park System and the United States National Park system to see some awesome sites and get outdoors.

This is a tip that I believe is important for married couples. Your children are very important and you need to spend time raising them and running them to the various activities, but make sure you make time for your spouse. I have seen more than my fair share of divorces because the couple had nothing in common after the kids left. Make sure you are spending time keeping the fire burning or it will go out and it will be very difficult to light again. While, it might be exciting to be single again, after watching some of my divorced friends, it not a fun journey. Now, some relationships are toxic and people are better off apart. But some relationships die do to lack of work and commitment, make sure you are putting the time in.

Final Thoughts

I worked way too many hours in the beginning of my career, while I don't regret it, it probably wasn't necessary. I missed out on more of my children events than I should have and I did not spend the time with my friends and family like I should have. The price I paid is missing out on memories and some very cool activities.  If I had sat back, took it slow and let the good times roll, I probably would have been better off :)

TBJ Consulting

TBJ Consulting