Perspective

Things have been fairly stressful at work. We are very busy, there are a lot of impending deadlines as well as large projects that are coming on line that we're not quite ready for. For the last two weeks there have been a bunch of emergency meetings, with messages on my phone saying "Things don't look good, come up for a meeting". In my position, what my group does somewhat dictates what the results will be, so the first place scrutiny is placed is with my group. When things are going well, it's great to be "the king"; when they're not, it's not so fun.

My biggest challenge these days is trying to manage the stress with a calm approach. I think what my life has taught me in the last few years, is that you have to take it one day at a time. Perspective is huge for me. The two people I work closest with go from crisis to crisis, like a sine wave. I can't do that anymore. I too want the kudos of getting a really important project through with terrific results and successfully competing against our closest rivals. But mostly, I want to be with my family, be happy, and live life to the fullest.

I hope this approach to life isn't perceived as "not caring" about my job, something I worry about in the environment I work in. I work very hard when I'm at work and most nights for some time as well. But ultimately, I won't define myself by my job - I never have.