A friend of mine recently admonished me to remember that we "work for our quality of life". This thought has stayed with me since he said it because I find that it's hard to believe. It seems true in principle, and certainly it's true aspirationally. But, is this aphorism really true?
Those of us who work very long hours often have to find quality of life in the work itself. It's not a trade-off -- work hard and then reap the reward later. Instead, work becomes life. And when the work fails to reward, or if it involves struggle or worry, there is no quality of life. Even when not engaged in working, there's the nagging, gnawing feeling at the edge of consciousness that all is not well.
I find that when work fails to reward I have to work twice as hard to set things aside and enjoy the peace and beauty of the day. Instead of working for quality of life, I'm fighting for a few moments of tranquility.
What I take away from this is how important it is to do work that you love, and when that changes, it's time to reconsider options in order to put life back into balance, with quality and perspective.
Friday, July 4, 2008
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