Live First – Work Second
*This post is the first in the Life-Deficit Series. An inside look at the keys to living your life to it’s fullest.
Work to live. Find something you love doing and then find someone to pay you to do it. When you love doing it, work isn’t work.
I’ve heard all of those things before, but what does it all mean to you? It means that our lives must be lived. I love work, don’t get me wrong. But it is absolutely key, and as hard as I try (and I’m not always successful), but I try to do something for me every day.
I work on average 10-12 hours a day. It’s not easy and I’m pulled in a lot of directions at any given moment. I love to be busy. It is my personality. But I do also love to relax. I love to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I just have to remember to focus on my life and the reason I work so hard.
Live First
Make sure you do something for yourself every day. Never forget to hug your spouse, your significant other, your kids and your loved ones. Hug your friends. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. Turn off the BlackBerry and the iPhone and smell the cookies in the oven. We need to live life and not let it live us.
Work Second
When you live your life first, that doesn’t mean that you don’t work. It means that while you’re passionate about your job, you must also be passionate about your life. Few things in life offer the reward that doing a job you love does. When I worked for the University of Northern Iowa athletic department, I remember one day walking into the UNI-Dome thinking to myself, “This is my job!” I loved it and I miss it every day. I love leading workshops and writing books, but I don’t let that control me.
Is your life balanced? Think about the last year and how much time and energy you put into work and how much time and energy you put into living. The “living” column should be the winner.
(Flickr photo via quinnanya)
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