I am a workaholic , my father is one too , he is in his seventies and still quiet adamantly goes to work almost every single day of the week . My sister is one too , so I can safely say it’s all genetic 😉 Better can proudly saying that my alcoholism is genetic …err I am obviously kidding here .

But seriously , this blog post sort of started walking into my head when I saw the so-called Last episode of Law and Order Criminal Intent ,where Vincent D’Onofrio is meeting with his shrink (Typical ) and decides that he can step aside from his massive king sized hero or at least the one he portrays for his character (let’s be fair , he is pretty convincing in his portrayal of an intelligent copper all dedicated to busting criminals and doing it with Elan’) and continue his session with her and address and admit to himself that work has taken over his mind to the point that he cannot see beyond it .I did feel a pang of sympathy for his character then , but couldn’t help battle conflicting thoughts within my mind of how work is after all that integral part of us that gives us a sense of individuality , it is necessary and mandatory.Yet the ever elusive work – life balance is difficult if not impossible to achieve.

This Workaholism – It is quite a crippling affliction I must admit , I have been there and suffered that so to speak . Spent the ”golden years” of my early life slaving late into perfectly lovely evenings in India’s most happening city ,Bombay , chasing some mad goals.

It’s only when I was forced to take a sabbatical that I was forced to see the other side of life. My choice of a career and industry meant my better half and me had different days of the week off and that meant even lesser time together than was possible otherwise. At first it didn’t matter but when I wasn’t working crazy hours and actually spent time at home , it set me thinking , was it all really worth it ?

I mean yes there is a period in life when we have to work hard, make some money so that we can have a fairly decent last few days post retirement and all that . But somewhere in this mad rat race of early morning and lat evenings we completely miss out on the larger picture . I am not entirely certain whether I can list what make sup this larger picture just that it’s made up of a zillion tiny moments of togetherness ,love , picnics , family time , catching up with pals or simply taking a break from it all .

If you go on for years without doing so , there will come a day when you look back and try desperately to find out how was it and when was it exactly that life passed you by it will just leave a rather bitter aftertaste and a massive feeling of emptiness.

I do know that in a recessionary world where jobs are difficult to come by and most people are hanging onto what they have for dear life ,to ensure that they can continue to put food on the table if nothing else .

But it is very important to count your blessing and invest good time in the people who matter the most , for who knows ,when one day ,it might just be too late to regret.

I cannot say whether I will not ever slip back into the same mode but every opportunity to do so tempts me a lot , but I am firm about a decision that has come about with a lot of introspection , I do still want to chase a DREAM, I want to have a baby some day , I do want to be there for that baby for all its important life events right from its first step to the time he or she decides to fly the nest. It’s a tall order, I know but then that’s what makes life what it is . I also want to sit back and think when I am getting old and foggy and hopefully have a grandchild or two to spoil , that I tried and maybe failed at achieving a mad dream rather than not having tried at all !

I do know this that if a few years ag, I worried that my grave stone epitaph would have the words ” Here lies an over obsessed Workaholic, resting at last” , I shall probably have more pleasant words like …” I chased my dreams and now I lie in eternal sleep , smiling down on all that love me , happy knowing that… I DID IT MY WAY ”