My partner was in the hospital today. He is a healthy young man and was just getting a regular checkup. He came home and commented on how he noticed lots of the doctors were overweight. He said it frustrated him that they sit and provide actions – advice, drugs, operations – all in the motivation of helping people live a a healthier life. However, they do not appear to prioritise that themselves.
So it made me think – should you have to practise what you preach?
Should it be an obligation to live and breath the words that you speak?
Of course, the best professionals are passionate about their line of work. So you do hope that passion extends to the actions in their personal and not just professional life. But for some reason that is not always true. Often people state something and but actually do the opposite. I know that most companies do try and have an element of the recruitment criteria which is related to the values of the organisation. But there is nothing like this for actual career choice. I know that I have had sports coaches that are overweight and worked in non-profit development organisations with selfish and materialistic people. I find this conflicting. Not only from respect for the individual, but also in regards to their personal choice.
Why would they choose to work in an environment where they do not live the values?
Is it because the available passion and energy for that area of life is zapped at work? No time for the chef to cook nice meals at home, the sports coach to do their own exercise or the doctor to eat healthy heart meals. I find it harder to understand this, than the opposite (and more common) way – the accountant who has a fashion blog on the side or the receptionist who is an opera singer. People who save their passion for hobbies and not for work. Not everyone manages to blend work with passion and not everyone has a choice. But to conflict what you preach professionally with what you practise personally confuses me.
I struggle to respect people in any area of life that are hypocritical. Maybe I am just too idealistic. But I really do hope my energy and passion for the things that I love continue to have more longevity than 9-5. How about you? Do your values carry from the professional to personal sphere?
Sarah Försterling 
If you can’t be idealist, what hope is there for change? I am very gulity of being idealist and while I am constantly reminded of this as if it is a bad thing, I am also stubbon to accept otherwise. As I see it, “life is not a dress rehersal”. I work part time but in reality I work more than a 40 hr week. I work part time to pay the bills but to also learn about how other people work/think/behave. I “work” 25 hrs and for the rest of my time, I freelance in sustainability projects which I am passion about. To me it’s not work, it’s my love, my life. So, I’m with you about struggling to respect people in any area of life that are hypocritical. We all have a choice, it’s about being honest with ourselves with what we truly value most.
Great to hear Carrie. I completely agree that we all have choices – maybe we are just lucky enough to continually push ourselves to realise that and hold onto our idealism 🙂
Yesterday I went and listened to Mark Stevenson speak and he had some great thoughts on this. He mentioned that today optimism is often seen naivety – which isn’t the case. Similarly, the same holds I think for being idealistic. Things can be better. Everything can always improve. We can decide to make the change. I like that.