What would you sacrifice for your work?

I've made a lot of sacrifices for my career over the years. There have been many, many things that I wish I could have been there for but my work tends to keep me away from home and family all too often.

I've missed the most important of events:

• The birth of my nieces and nephews.
• Too many birthdays to count.
• Weddings, parties, celebrations of all kinds.

And most sadly of all:

• The passing of loved ones and their funerals

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This last one has been the hardest. There was one year where I couldn't get home to be with 3 different family members before they passed away. Sometimes I've been able to get back home for funerals, but it's not always possible to get a flight home in time. And it's at these times where I really question my decisions and current situation.

I'm not pretending that I wasn't aware that these sacrifices were required as part of my chosen career. And I'm also not pretending that the financial compensation isn't significant. And finally, I've seen much greater sacrifices that people have made for their work which really put my situation into stark perspective.

I've seen people sacrifice their legs, and even their lives for their work

And these sacrifices should never have been made.

All the sacrifices that I have made for my career could never match the person who lost their legs for their work. And no person should ever have to sacrifice their own life for their work; which I have witnessed on two separate occasions.

Seeing these things occur has taught me a few simple lessons:

• Family and friends should be your highest priority. Your time with them is much more precious than your time in your workplace. I'm well aware that I place my career at the highest of my personal priorities so I'm a walking contradiction here. But as you read my posts you'll more than likely grow to understand why I do this. Life can sometimes get complicated. And I tend to make things way too complicated.
• Your employment should never ever put you in a situation where you could lose your life.
• You should never ever put yourself in a position where you could lose your life or suffer permanent injury for the sake of earning a few dollars or making the earning of those dollars slightly easier.

But even though I am a walking contradiction, seeing two people leaving work in body bags and having multiple family members leave my life permanently in the same year changed me forever. My perspective of life has been irreversibly changed and my approach to my career has been changed forever as well.

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Your life is precious, and you should never put yourself at risk for the benefit of your employer. Your employer will never thank you for putting yourself at risk. And your family certainly won't thank you for putting yourself in a situation where you could be prematurely taken from them.

I spent some time with the chap who lost his legs recently. His life is permanently changed. He'll never go back to his old career. When we spoke; he was depressed, angry, and so incredibly frustrated. His relationship with his wife was strained and I could visibly see that he hated everything about his situation. And what did he lose his legs for? His employer? They didn't want him to lose his legs, they just wanted him to do his job safely. He lost his legs for nothing. He lost them because he chose to ignore some simple rules that were designed to protect him.

So while my work may present some challenges, and I might miss some events that I really should be home for. My sacrifices will never be as great as those people who have either lost their lives or suffered events that have been so detrimental that the person's life has been impacted on in an incredibly negative manner.

It's these events that make me thankful that my career is at least a safe one. And one that keeps my family well looked after.