If you truly are a workaholic, and you've researched the power of addiction then you know that conquering it is not easy and requires help. The first step is to recognize the problem and realize the pain that this is causing you. The truth is you probably will not be able to conquer it without consistent determined outside help. In Dr. David Hawkins book Power versus Force he presents some powerful ideas and revelations about how the higher levels of consciousness are at the foundation of the 12 step program for recovery from alcoholism. One of the first people to recognize and develop a "cure" for alcoholism had gone to Sigmund Freud who told this patient, a prominent and successful business person from the US, that there was no known cure that he could help him with, but that some people had been helped by developing a strong spiritual connection.
This person eventually stimulated the growth of AA by discovering a way he could quit drinking. Subsequently individuals learned of the techniques and eventually the program developed.
It is interesting in this development that the recognition of a higher power is a necessity to achieve success. Release of our ego seems to be a very important if not critical element in the development of any great accomplishment, business or intention. Most of us workaholics [and I do confess if not to having fully fledged workaholic tendencies, to at least having addictive characteristics] work because it feeds our ego. We feel that if we're not doing something we are not worthy. We'll pick up anything or say anything to help someone. We usually can't say no to work of any kind that we believe will make us look better to others. Work seems to be a drug we take to puff up our importance. At least in our own minds. The rationalization is they couldn't have done it without me. The entrepreneur on the other hand is looking for ways that they can do just the opposite, make it happen without me!
Name a person who has achieved greatness in the sole pursuit of money and I will also provide you with a person of little if any continuing contribution to the world. Those people who have achieved true greatness in any endeavor have always achieved it based on the contribution it makes to the human spirit.
What is your workaholic motivation? Is it to provide for your family? Is it to feed some fear you have of failure, or perhaps success? Are you working so hard to fill your need to feel important? To feed your ego?
The discovery of your purpose or Primary Aim is often a very difficult journey. Sometimes clients refuse to work on it fully and wish to move on to the next step. Often times people with the biggest egos struggle the most. I don't have time for this they say I need to be doing something constructive. They want to work on systems, and build their business. After all isn't that why they came to the program? So off they go, often to do something that will feed their burgeoning ego.
True enough "systems" is what the business development process provides, yet without touching the spirit of what we want, simply building a great business will never satisfy us. In fact just the opposite is true. Building a great business takes away our life rather than gives us one. Why? Because building a great business is a job that is never done. Building a great business is where a business owner becomes a workaholic. Knowing what your purpose is provides you with meaning. It gives you the recognition of what your real value and contribution is, and most importantly provides the energy one needs to live and to achieve. Life isn't about just work. It's about all the life that goes on around us. Focused on building a great business is a dead end, or a road without end bec, ause building a great business is a road that is never finished. A workaholic needs to recognize this and his/her tendency. Building a great life, a purposeful one that is focused on completing a mission that utilizes your skills and talents and makes those around you more rewarded and fulfilled, that's a goal you can finish.
If you are a workaholic admit it. Seek help. Get a coach and then approach the process of developing your business with an open mind. If you're like most business owners you will want immediate results. But success doesn't come over night. This like anything worthwhile, changing a habit, losing weight, having a satisfying marriage, raising great children is a process not an event. Expect ups and downs, but expect to be much more satisfied than the path that you were struggling with presently. The road to recovery is a narrowing demanding path. It is rewarding and fulfilling. You will end up with much more, a life that has been reborn and a business that gives you more life!
