Reality check: one narcissist's lesson in humility

I'm not quite sure when we all started thinking our job was more important than others. But there seems to be a competition out there to see who can work the longest and hardest. Everyone's job is stressful, right?

My life seems to be gripped in the tyranny of urgency. When the light on my BlackBerry blinks red, it physically pains me not to stop whatever I'm doing and see what important e-mail awaits (New recommended book at Amazon? How could I have possibly waited 10 minutes to know that?). I rush from meeting to meeting. I lose sleep over unfinished tasks.

Wait... someone needs a report? I'll cancel whatever I'm doing!

When you're a single person, it's often difficult to find a balance. The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is turn on my BlackBerry to discover what kinds of admissions emergencies happened overnight. I spend my weekends doing spreadsheets, planning meetings, and thinking about processes. After all, it's life or death whether someone gets an acceptance letter on Monday or Tuesday, right?

Please don't get me wrong. Most days I love my job and I find a lot of satisfaction in what I do. I think I'm helping people to change their lives for the better and, at the end of the day, that makes all the stress worthwhile.

But really... why do I kill myself on all of this stuff that, in as little as a few hours, will seem unimportant? Why do I postpone my relationships, eat lunch at my desk, and avoid taking vacation days?

Yes, I think we all should value what we do and put our heart and soul into it, but we shouldn't do it to the exclusion of having a life.

So, in the interest of getting one of those, I called the new guy back last night. We talked for a few moments about travel and interests and hobbies--typical first date conversation--until I heard commotion in the background and finally said, "Are you at work?"

He was. And two traumas had just entered the room. So we had to hang up quickly.

You know, hearing me talk about my day somehow takes a back seat to plunging one's hand into a chest cavity. I guess the world really doesn't revolve around me after all.

I did get a sweet e-mail a couple of hours later, apologizing for the brevity of our conversation. Yeah, I'm self involved, but even I was okay with that. Hang up and grab the paddles.

I laughed when I read it because it put my life in such perspective. I seldom apologize to people for checking my BlackBerry while they're talking. I don't think about giving many people my undivided attention because I can multi-task while they explain in great detail why they have such a low grade point average. But really... nothing I do is life or death. So I need to slow down, do the best that I can do with the time given, and let the rest go.

Here's hoping we all have a stress-free day.