Do you work to live or live to work? Now that’s a hard question, isn’t it? This was a quote from a guy in BJJ after a pretty hard sparring session. I even forgot how we ended up talking about this topic. It’s a great question if you ask me since most people don’t think about it. These people just drift through life. They go with the flow as they like to say, but they have no clue where they’re heading. That’s what you get when you’ve got no sense of purpose in life. You’ll end up anywhere. It means that you could gain a promotion or a burnout. The odds are even and you don’t know what you’ll get. I seriously hope that you won’t face a burnout. It mostly goes downhill from there for most people. That’s what happens if you live to work off course.
Do you work to live or live to work?
One of my favorite books is called The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (buy it here). I liked it because it proves that you can be successful while you maintain a healthy social life. Most people assume that you’ve got to work all the time get reach a certain goal. You could do it but you’ll pay the price cash. You’ll lose friends and family members. Suddenly you’ll be left alone with the one thing that you suddenly hate. Yes, I’m talking about your work.
Another option is that you use your work to escape your reality. You just keep on working to avoid your thoughts or your own unhappy life. This is an unhealthy lifestyle if you ask me. You should work hard but you should take care of yourself as well. It’s okay to relax from time to time. It’s okay to work less than 14 hours a day and its okay to leave your work at your job.
The story that should open your eyes
Rich parents are a curse and I wasn’t kidding about that one. I once knew someone who had wealthy parents. The particular person should have been happy, but it wasn’t the case. You can have everything you want, material stuff, and still, feel empty inside. The only thing that this person wanted was normal family life. Sad isn’t it? You can buy a lot but you can’t buy all the times you’ve missed. All those missed birthdays and stuff add-on after a while. Those people are estranged from their children and don’t get why. Those parents should be grateful when their children aren’t doing a form of escapism. I’m talking about stuff like snorting cocaine to feel better.
Should you live to work or work to live?
I don’t want to be the guy who regrets the fact that he worked too much at the end of this life. That would be pretty sad if you ask me. We’re all going to die one day so why would you work all the time? What are you trying to accomplish by it? Did it even matter if you wasted 40 years doing something that you didn’t like? You’ll end up dead anyway so why don’t you enjoy life a little bit more?! So I prefer to work to live. People who work all the time are either busy or bad at setting priorities. These people never question the fact if they’re investing or wasting time. It’s a sad reality which they mostly realize way too late.
I believe that you should practice moderation in everything you do. Don’t overdo everything you do. It’s that easy. Work hard and relax smart. People mostly don’t work and relax all the time or do the complete opposite. So why don’t you act smart? That would be a good start. I get why by the way. Because you don’t read and you’ll only get dumb and dumber as you get older if you don’t read of course.
Some people will never get it.
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Till next time
Alex
