Read the text below about three people sharing their life and work experience and then, do the exercises.

Ewelina Ramontowska Trying to Live Better

Tyra, aged 36

My story? Well, to tell you the truth, I used to be a workaholic. My job was my priorityprioritypriority. I would never choose to go to a family meeting if I didn’t finish a project or submitsubmitsubmit a report. Sometimes I even gave up on celebrations as important as my mother’s birthdays, not to mention countless Sunday family dinners. I strongly believed that my siblings and parents would forgive my frequent absence. After all, should they truly require my presence, we could always meet some other time. Except, this “other time” never happened because I was always busy and I exerted pressureexerted pressure [exert pressure]exerted pressure on myself without any rational reason. I was always on time, ready to act, aid my team workers, and answer any work‑related querieswork‑related queries [work‑relatef query]work‑related queries whether I was on the clock or not, which I now realise sounds unhealthy. My reports were always impeccableimpeccable impeccable, too accurate but conciseconciseconcise and if there was a speck of misunderstanding, I fixed it at once. I thought that I was perfectly contentcontentcontent and fulfilled as the job rewarded all my efforts… until that call. One day, my sister rang and informed me that our father had had a stroke. For the first time in my career, I took a day offtook a day off [take a day off] took a day off and, surprisingly, felt no remorseremorseremorse. While I was dashingdashing [dash]dashing to the hospital, I started to ponderponderponder on my life, which suddenly seemed devoid ofdevoid ofdevoid of everything truly important due to my misplaced prioritiesmisplaced priorities [misplaced priority]misplaced priorities. I desperately wished I had spent more time with my dad. I reprimanded myself over and over for giving my parents lower prioritylower prioritylower priority than my job and I promised myself to change it. The very next day, when my father woke up, I called my office and, to their astonishment, I took a week off. I had eventually realised I needed time to unwindtime to unwindtime to unwind and devote myself to my family.

Uhtred, aged 27

I couldn’t bear the pressure and ongoing assessmentassessmentassessment in my company. There was a sign on my boss’s door: “You should have done it yesterday” as meeting deadlinesmeeting deadlines [meet a deadline]meeting deadlines were more than mandatorymandatorymandatory. Each of the employees’ desks had a slogan written on it, such as “Make your job a prioritymake your job a priority [make something a priority]Make your job a priority” or, to my horror: “A 40‑hour work week40‑hour work week40‑hour work week is for weaklingsweaklings [weakling]weaklings, be a strongman”. Nothing was more crucial than sales figures, customer satisfaction, and being available at any time of day or night. Nobody took unforeseen circumstancescircumstances [circumstance]circumstances under consideration, even if you had serious health or family‑related issues, which, as everybody knows, occuroccuroccur more often than we'd like to think. In short, you were obliged to do your job on time no matter what and at the cost of your personal life. After two years of working in such a toxic atmosphere and with those, frankly insaneinsaneinsane, requirements, I was literally exhausted. The job I sacrificed myself for was a tremendous source of stresssource of stress source of stress in my life and it was the time when my body and mind started to rebel. Well, it couldn’t have ended any other way: I experienced severe burnoutburnout burnout. One day, motivating myself to keep on working appeared to be beyond my capacitybeyond my capacitybeyond my capacity because I felt so depressed and disheartened. The only way out was to unplugunplug unplug from my workplace which wasn’t easy at all. I felt really tired but simultaneously I didn’t have the slightest idea how to let my hair downlet my hair down [let one’s hair down]let my hair down. It took me a while to prioritiseprioritise prioritise my life again and learn how to relax, and, however difficult it was, I managed. Nowadays, should a company require this type of commitment from me, I simply refuse to work for them.

Brida, aged 50

It took me almost 40 years to realise that my wellbeingwellbeing wellbeing is my priority. I have been feeling exceptionally well since I discovered the peace and quiet inside me. I cherishcherishcherish my privacy, my space, and my needs day by day as these elements turn out to be of supreme importancesupreme importancesupreme importance to gain tranquillity of mindtranquillity of mindtranquillity of mind. Why is privacy crucial? Once you set boundariesset boundaries [set a boundary]set boundaries with possessivepossessivepossessive people, tiresome workmates, and a demanding boss, you are likely to retrieveretrieveretrieve a great piece of your life: time. It is often the time to recoverrecoverrecover from ailmentsailments [ailment]ailments caused by work‑related stresswork‑related stresswork‑related stress such as migraines, sleep disorders, or even depression. It's also the time to mend relationships with those who we really love. Why space? Having your own place, particularly aesthetic and pleasing to the eye, helps to boost recovery timerecovery timerecovery time and, above all, enables you to clear your head. Finally, the needs. Only by recognising your true needs are you capable of accessing so‑called mindfulnessmindfulnessmindfulness – the state of being here and now. It is nothing more than soundsound (adjective)sound mental health which can be reached by meditation, concentration techniques, and acceptance of the surrounding world. It is certainly easier said than doneeasier said than doneeasier said than done – you may be lucky enough to find a spiritual guide, someone who will lead you on the right path. If I hadn’t met my beloved yoga teacher, I certainly wouldn’t have reached this stage of self‑development on my own. Nevertheless, everyone can do it – you only have to want it. I wish everyone focused more on their needs, their inner voice, practised self‑carepractise self‑carepractised self‑care, and became as at peace as I am.

1 Źródło: Ewelina Ramontowska, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.