Do you prioritize your relationships or your career more?
The answer to this sort of question is never so straightforward. For me, I started prioritising my career more when I was younger, but as I grew older, things changed...
When I was younger and was just starting out in the workforce, my parents were middle aged and they were relatively healthy and also working as well. But as time went by, little health issues start to crop up, and the frequency of medical checkups and appointments started to increase. They have taken good care of me since I was young, and it's time that I should take good care of them as well. Inevitably, I will have to make decisions and strike a balance between my work commitments and my parents' needs, and in my mind, I was very clear on this.
I still remembered when both of them caught Covid together last year, I dropped everything and rushed back to make sure they had everything they need. As they couldn't leave the house, and were not tech-savvy to order food delivery, I took it upon myself to get their meals, and helped with some of the chores at their place. It wasn't all too smooth as my dad had to go to Accident and Emergency (A&E) on one of the days, and I remembered getting a SMS from my mum about his condition when I was in office, and I took urgent leave and headed down to wait for him to be discharged.
Illnesses aside, I do enjoy spending time with my parents, and it's so heartwarming to see them happy even if it's just having a chat over a coffee. Just yesterday, I was helping them to download a mobile app on the phone and they were so happy that their issue was resolved. Sometimes it's the little things that matter.
I just celebrated my birthday with them not long ago. After a sumptuous meal, we went for coffee as usual and knowing that I have a sweet tooth, they ordered 4 different slices of cake and we got to sample all of them!
You might then ask, what about the career part? When I was younger, I think the reason why I put that as my priority because I was striving to earn my income and save up for the future, and wanted to do well for the organisation as well. I didn't have too many commitments so my career was one of the few things that I could focus on.
I might be a little late on this, but over time, I realised that no matter how much appreciation that an organisation or bosses can show for employees, the sad reality is that no one is indispensable.
Without me, the organisation could still function. But for my parents, loved ones, and friends, the impact would be more significant. And with that, I have found my inner compass.
And that's all from me, thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments below if you have any thoughts on this issue too!