Workaholic or Workaphiliac?

[Guest guest]

Often, people refer to some of us who really enjoy our work as " workaholics " ,

a term which implies some sort of addiction or compulsion which we cannot

control. I prefer to think of myself as a " workaphiliac " , that is, someone

who loves to work. Since I also enjoy playing just as much (in various

forms such as sport and recreation), I might also be called a " ludophiliac "

(one who loves game playing).

So, let any of us who have a great passion for doing anything, let us add the

far more positive suffix " -philiac " , rather than " -aholic " , with all of its

negative connotations -- like " Supertrainerphiliac " , even though, judging

from feedback from list members, I know that many of you out there admit to

being " Supertrainerholics " -- suffering from withdrawal symptoms if you have

to leave the Internet for a few days for business, vacation or competitions!

Dr Mel C Siff

Denver, USA

Supertraining/

[Guest guest]

Mel Siff wrote:

<Often, people refer to some of us who really enjoy our work as " workaholics " ,

a term which implies some sort of addiction or compulsion which we cannot

control. I prefer to think of myself as a " workaphiliac " , that is, someone who

loves to work.....>

** I wonder if there is a balance between " oholic " and " aphiliac " as it is not

so wrong to feel a sense of loss when something trivial keeps you from a

workout or you miss the fun of being on line. As long as it is not

crippling, it appears quite healthy.

If you have mapped out your workout, packed your gym bag and the cable goes

out of order and you have to wait the prescribed 4 hours for the cable man

to come, and you miss your workout because your spouse has PTA and the kids

have some incredibly important meeting at school that is going to change the

direction of the world peace process, you have a right to be annoyed and

feel a sense of loss or annoyance without being considered disturbed. As

long as you don't let these occasional setbacks become major, what is wrong

with " being angry " and why should there be a term for it other than " mildly

annoyed " ?

Ron Dobrin

www.dolfzine.com

New York City

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