Day 208 (Two-Hundred & Eight) of 365 days

I think at some point, we all have to come to a decision in our life about certain priorities in regards to our lifestyle and workplace… live to work, or work to live. One of these, it seems, must always come before the other. We can either choose to live for our work, where our lifestyle, location, and family must conform to the demands of our job. Or, we can choose to set a way of life and find an occupation that supports that life.

Some of us choose our career, or because of our career, we have no other option. Others of us don’t care what we do, as long as it supports our life. Police and lawyers don’t have much room outside of their work, and snowboarders and surfers are notorious for holding temporary jobs that allow them to spend more time riding waves of water or snow.

The majority of people everywhere, need to work to make a living and provide for their families but their job isn’t exactly what they would love to do with the rest of their lives. Others are fortunate enough to love their “work” and enjoy it to the fullest, so if they didn’t have to do the work to live, they still would. I believe that for a lot of successful peoples’ original “work” becomes their passion. It transfers from a need to a want.

If you live to work, you may be crossing that fine line between being engaged and being consumed by work. When passion becomes preoccupation — when a disproportionate amount of your time, thoughts, and energy are devoted to your career — your work-life balance can be threatened. On the flip side, when you work to live, you miss out on the rich sense of fulfillment that a meaningful career can elicit.

Achieving work-life balance requires more than proportionally distributing your time between your career and your life outside of work; it also involves allocating your focus and energy in a way that encourages success, fulfillment, and overall wellbeing. The formula is different for everyone.