I’ve heard plenty of men say, “My family is my responsibility. The main reason I work is to put food on the table and a roof over their heads.” Have you ever heard anyone say that? Have you ever said it? In my recent encounter with Todd Hopkins and Ray Hilbert’s book, The Janitor, I was reminded that my upbringing thankfully helped me to see my family as much more than a responsibility.
In the book, The Janitor, former business leader Bob is now the part-time janitor in the evenings at the company led by Roger, the CEO. Their weekly encounters bring transformation to Roger as Bob shares some poignant axioms that his late wife Alice taught him. The second directive that Roger received through Bob—View family as a blessing, not a responsibility. Roger was in the middle of a disintegrating marriage and a disconnection from his two young children. He paid attention to this advice from his janitor who was fast becoming a mentor.
Very simple. If you view your family as a blessing, not a responsibility, you can experience joy with your family. Then you are able to experience your work in a fresh and free way—free from viewing it as slave work to provide for home. You actually become free to uncover your real purpose for work.
If you view family the other way around, this mind-set leads to several problems. It becomes hard to enjoy work because work becomes a necessary evil to meet the burden of responsibility at home. If the purpose of work is defined as providing for home life, then it becomes hard to enjoy either work or home. So when work is miserable, naturally it is home’s fault.
Now, be honest. Which view most closely resembles your default thinking? Have you viewed your family as a responsibility or a blessing? What is one step you will take today to make needed adjustments?
QUESTION: Did you receive any advice that has helped you to see your family as a blessing? Please pass it on it in the Comment section below. Thanks!
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