To sum it all up nicely,
I work to live, not live to work.
I don’t understand people who just work work work. Why? At the end of your life does anyone ever say, “Gosh, I wish I would have worked more?” No – they realize how much of their life they wasted sitting in front of a computer screen or sitting on a plane, living out of a hotel, and wish they would have actually experienced
life, spent more time with their family, etc. – and by that time it’s too late.
Life is too short to worry about work and focus on work. Yes, it is necessity to have income for survival, and yes, many people enjoy their work, so that’s fine, but I would argue that the majority of people have their priorities out of line.
Why do people stress themselves out, and work 50, 60, 80 hour weeks? What’s it for? Money? “Success”? I guess it’s how you define success then – for me, success is having a well-balanced life and having my priorities straight, not having a corner office. But, to each their own...
And at what cost? Your health? So you can be stressed out, sleep-deprived, work yourself to an early grave and never enjoy the fun things in life? So you never spend time with your family? And again, for what? Money? At the end of the day, does that really matter that much to you?
I work hard and have a lot of ambition, but I limit myself to 40-50 hours a week. My employer gives me 7 weeks fully paid vacation a year and dammit I take every single day. I’m a backpacker and world traveler and can’t imagine not broadening my horizons through travel – it’s a big world out there – see it, experience it, and see how it puts everything in perspective. But for those who just work, they’re living in a very limited, narrow world and are truly missing out. Honestly, I feel sorry for them.
It’s all about balance. I could move to a larger city and make way more money than I currently am, but why would I want to? So I can stress myself out? So I can have a 1.5 or 2 hour commute to and from work every day? What’s your personal time worth? That’s time I can use here to spend with my wife, go to the gym to maintain my health, play sports, enjoy a walk in the park, you name it – not sitting in traffic and being exhausted at the end of every day. Why would anyone want that? I get to go home around 5:00 each day, on average, and I have a 15 minute drive home. I can relax, prepare a nice, fresh, healthy home-cooked meal and don’t have to grab crap food like MacDonald’s or something since that’s all I have time for. What’s your health, both physical and mental worth?
I enjoy reading, going to the gym, screenwriting, acting, modeling, hiking, soccer, traveling, playing in the Symphony Orchestra, playing poker, spending time with friends – all things I wouldn’t have time for if I just focused on work. And what kind of a life would that be?
My advice to those who are addicted to work: Get your priorities straight, ask yourself why you are doing this and for what, and achieve a balance. And most importantly, learn how to
live. Life is short – enjoy every minute you can of it.
All that being said, I guess you gotta do what you enjoy, and if that type of lifestyle is rewarding for you, then good for you. Personally, I wouldn't want it for all the tea in China.
