Untitled
I admit that I often push myself to my limits at work – I can go 24 hours without sleep, eat just for the sake of eating, and be kept alive by energy drinks. That was before I heard about the story of Mita Diran.
For those who have not read about her, here’s who she is and what happened to her in a nutshell: Mita is a 24-year old copywriter from Indonesia. Last January 24, she posted a tweet-- her last tweet. She posted, “30 hours of working and still going strooong.”She’s been working for 30 hours straight that night, with the help of strong energy drinks. On her 30th hour, Mita suddenly collapsed and fell into a coma. She died the next day.
Coming from the same industry and having first-hand experience on the pressures given by our line of work, I am deeply saddened by what happened to Mita. Although I know that much of what happens to us are results of our choices, I don’t think that she wanted this. Nobody did.
I hope that what happened to Mita can serve as a reminder to workers that while it is admirable to go beyond what is expected of us, we still can only do so much. And we should take care of ourselves (yes, including myself) because when we get sick and weak, all the more that we cannot do our jobs well.
It pays to take a step back at times just to relax and to breathe. It pays to take care of ourselves and our health. Because really, no project, or job for that matter, is ever worth risking your life for.
