working to live, living to work, striking a balance

You’ve probably heard the old question “On your deathbed will you regret not spending more time working or living your life?”  To which most folks will choose to spend more time living naturally.

But thinking about it, work is very much part of our lives.  For most of us work helps define who were are.  The money generated by work determines what we wear, eat, drive, and where we live.  Work provides us with acquaintances, contacts, friends, and in a few cases spouses.

We like to think that “living” is something we do when we’re not in the office or at the work place but seriously who works a full 8 hours exactly?  Even in the most controlled of workplaces there is laughter, there is gossip, there is living going on.

Another thing that many people have heard at one time or another “If you do what you love for a living then you never work a day in your life”

Most of us will never get to test this out.  Truthfully most folks don’t really know what they like.  Oh. they have ideas but nothing too certain.  Nothing that they can quantify.  Those that do know always come up with an excuse or reason why it wouldn’t work as a job.

Those lucky few out there that do know and did take the gamble to turn it into a profession, do you think that they’re not living?

Like anything else we can overdo work and I think that’s where the problem lies.  Sometimes people use work as an excuse to not socialize, some obsess over work as other obsess over a hobby or even as a drug.

We know that the warning signs are all around us.  Sometimes people close to us try to warn us and we turn away.  Learn to listen, look around.  By no means quit working but put it into perspective.  What is it you really want to achieve with your life?  Is work getting you there?

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