Having a balanced life needs as much importance as being productive.

IN ORDER TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE in the 21st century we need to be more aware of the effects of stress on people and how to reverse it. According to an article by Dr. Kevin Flemming, more that 60% of work absences last year in the United States were attributed to psychological stress and other related issues. This cost American companies $57 billion. In our efforts to pursue our “unalienable Right to happiness” we need to re-discover what really makes us happy. We should ask ourselves, are we trying to find happiness in the wrong places? Jacob Needlemen thinks so in his book The American Soul when he asserts, we often seek happiness through the acquisition of things. “Materialism is a disease of the mind”, he says, “starved for ideas about our inner and outer world.”

I once heard that happiness is being surrounded by people we love and who love us. Whatever the definition, we have to discover what truly makes us happy. And, by spending as little as 20 percent of our time doing what we love to do we reduce the risk of stress and burnout. Having a balanced life needs as much importance as being productive.