Do You Live to Work or Work to Live?

That is the question. If you live to work than you know who you are. If you don't know already than I will tell you. You're the person who reports to work every day. You do not understand what the word vacation means. Even if you do take a day off, you will find some way to do some work at home. You are usually absent at family gatherings. You are usually on time and if you are late it's because you went to a early work meeting before your shift began. You are the one who checks their email account at night to see if there are any new messages from work. Lets say you are out with your family or a loved one. The phone rings. Do you answer it? Of course you do. When you are eating dinner with your family, what is the general topic. It's work right? When asked about your priorities, I'm sure that career comes first.

Don't get me wrong. You are a very dedicated and motivated employee. And your boss and others should feel very fortunate that they have such a wonderful employee as yourself in their mist. And, you work very hard for your money. You bring home the bacon to provide for your family.

Some individuals need to live to work. If you are military, undercover or any career that you must be one hundred percent all the time in working mode. Those of you who cannot turn off your work duties are truly appreciated. It's not always easy to give yourself for the benefit of others all the time.

Here comes the flip side. Work to live. What do I mean by that? Plan that vacation with your family or someone special in your life. When a momentous occasion comes along you should attend. At dinner time, ask others how their day went. Spend some quality time with your family and friends. Your family should be your first priority.It's great to work hard and provide ends meat for your family. But, remember this.

If you lost your job today what would you be left with? Will your family be a little resentful because you always put work first? Did you loose all of your friends because you never had the time to spend with them? Did your home life fall apart because you were a workaholic and never had the time to get involved in family matters? And the worst of all, Did you miss seeing the milestones in your children or your siblings children because you were never around?

The bottom line is that you need to find a equal balance between living to work and working to live. Remember. You can always find another job. But, loved ones and happiness is the hardest to find and keep.