I am reading “This is How” by Augusten Burroughs of “Running with Scissors” fame. This is both a self-help book and a parody of traditional self-help, and pretty funny, too. One chapter focuses on limits and how it’s a good thing that we all have limits, whether it’s of time, money, ability or something else. That got me thinking in many ways including how this relates to the work/life balance discussions that are all the rage in the web-sphere and media via blogs, forums and articles. What made his take most interesting to me is that he is not writing from the perspective of someone married with children. Basically his argument is that limits force us to be creative. If life had no limits, our life would feel stagnant and valueless. And the line that struck me the most: “Not having it all is good.”
You should read the book for that chapter alone. While he really wasn’t talking about women juggling career/work/chores/life, it seemed applicable to that situation. Time limits can definitely lead to exhaustion but it also forces you to make better use of time, at work and at home.
Sometimes it’s good to get a male perspective on a topic dominated and discussed mostly by women.
Oh, there’s also a very good chapter about how to be fat.
Another interesting comparison is “staying at home” vs. “financial independence,” the latter being the male version of not working for pay.
Oh so true! Or “early retirement” when your spouse is still working. I know this can be somewhat true if there is a passive income stream but I think having the working spouse cushion is a huge plus.
Sounds intriguing, I’ll definitely check it out. BTW, I loved the movie version of “RWS.”
@nicoleandmaggie – “‘financial independence’ = the male version of not working for pay.” Word.
I should check out RWS…just don’t know if it’s very dark and sad? On another note, I’m not getting blog comments sent to my email any longer. Not sure why.