#PV - Find The Balance

By John R. Nocero & Sandy Abell

John: It is gold if you can make your profession your livelihood and your passion. If you live and breathe your role, you understand what I am talking about. Your role becomes a big part of who you are, integrated into the overall strategy and operations of the organization but also your life. There is nothing wrong with this at all.

I know others, who make their job an important part of their life, but it is not their whole life. I have a very good friend, who has a strong career, where he participates in many activities for his profession, but he also volunteers his time to associations outside his job, he has a wonderful marriage which he enjoys and he supports his wife wholeheartedly; he is raising a daughter and he also finds time to have a couple hobbies he enjoys. If you ask him, he may say he is a bit over-committed but he wouldn’t change anything at all. He lives a fulfilled life.

Which one is right? Both. It all depends on where you are in your life and what you prioritize. You may be young in your career and you are looking to learn as much as possible so you devote more time to work. Conversely, when you feel that you may have other priorities in your life that you are looking to improve on, work may only be a priority for when you are working. That’s okay too. It is also normal to have the pendulum sway a bit in both directions – work, family, school, family work again – you get the idea.

Just know it is normal to be slightly out of balance from time to time. Yes, Sandy?

Sandy: Absolutely John! You said it perfectly.

Balance is important, but, as you said, there are times when one thing needs more of the attention, and times when you can spread it somewhere else. 

Even people whose work is their passion, still need to look outside of it occasionally to make sure they are also taking care of their health, relationships, finances, etc. However, once they do that, focusing on one thing that makes you happy is a great way to go.