Retirement Story: From Workaholic to Alcoholic to Relaxaholic

I’ve often stated how I almost worked myself into a stroke while in the corporate world. It was my own doing, and it nearly cost me my life. Luckily, The Peanut Man, whom I have spoken of frequently here, got me straight on what means the most in life. That would be….well, living. I was living at my job and doing little else.

I introduce this little preamble to you to show that hard work can go too far. It can get you a coveted promotion, as I outlined in a story last week. But hard work can also take a toll on your personal life and job performance as well. Taking things too seriously at work can bring you to the brink of madness.

Dan Was Consumed By His Work

An example of this is someone we’ll call “Dan.” Dan reminded me so much of myself when I was just starting out in the corporate world. A real go-getter, hard-charging, hard-working 30something. But, like me, Dan became consumed by his work. To say he was a workaholic would be an understatement. He would sometimes not leave the office until 10 p.m. during the week. It was affecting his marriage, family, and even his work performance. He was in serious trouble in his life during this time.

But Dan soon turned to alcohol to drown out his troubles. He began even drinking at work (now, this is something I never did, but I did start drinking heavily). He was suspended for 45 days to get his life in order. His wife separated from him and took the children to another part of the state. Dan was as far at rock bottom as rock bottom could be. He suddenly realized that his job isn’t the most important thing to him. It took his wife leaving him for him to realize this. It took a medical diagnosis of hypertension at age 31 for him to realize that a job isn’t everything.

A Father That Cared Helped Him

Luckily for Dan, he had a father he loved and respected who got him back on the straight and narrow. I didn’t have that in my life. But Dan did. Dan won his job back, his family, and his self-respect. I’ve said many times that corporate life is not for the faint of heart. Saying it’s dog-eat-dog is being kind. It’s much worse than that. The job grinds you into dust if you let it. Dan allowed that to happen to him.

Today Dan lives in southern Georgia with many trips to Simons Island as he relaxes and enjoys his retirement years with his wife. Dan went through much as he arrived at his present stage in life. Much of his problems he brought on himself by putting work above all else, which is something I can identify with on many levels.

Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom, as Dan did, to realize what means most to you in life. I found out the hard way just as Dan did.