Work Life Balance

Now, as much as I hate this phrase, let’s talk about it. Work life balance is something that we should be aware of and think on.

There are those who work themselves to death. Whether it’s through stress or exhaustion. They work so hard that their job literally kills them. I don’t know about you, but that’s no way to live.

Now, I’m not talking about the I love this and completely obsessed with what I do and absolutely love it. That’s not it. I’m talking about the guys who feel that they must work all the time and can’t enjoy life. Sure, I tend towards the work a lot, but I also like to just relax and do nothing too.

I say this because years ago I worked with a guy, who became a pretty good friend. He died of kidney cancer, but the real cause was he died from the stress of the job. Sure he didn’t eat all that well, but it was the stress that really killed him. He was 35.

I’ve seen it recently in another friend who is starting to have health issues. Also a young guy. All from the stress of his job.

These guys work hard, go hard, produce results. They are the guys you want on your team because they get things done and do the work. I really like working with guys like this. However, these are also the guys you have to tell to go on vacation and get out of the office. They need to take some time off.

On the other hand you have people who never show up to work and never do anything productive. These are people you don’t want around. They drag everything down and are really just not all that fun. They don’t want to work or contribute.

So, while yes there is a balance, it’s not what everyone says out there. It’s a balance of doing what you need to do. It’s having a life outside of work.

Now if you enjoy work, cool man. Enjoy it. But don’t let work stress you out, keep you down, make you upset. It’s not worth it at the end of the day. I’ve seen too many people burn out. Too many lose themselves in the job and wind up in the hospital.

Hell, I got shingles from the stress of work. It’s not worth it. Yes, have a good job. Care about it, but don’t let it run your life or ruin your life. Is another 100,000 worth being in the hospital for a month every 3 years? Dying at 40 from a heart attack?

Don’t let that ruin your life.

Have some balance and have some fun. Life is meant to be lived.