Work and life

[redshoes]

I have to admit that I am probably lucky that my work gives me satisfaction and fullfilment. It is hard to find a hobby that will have me get involved as much as my work.I am used to say that my hobby is my work. But the price is that my life restricts to a work life and that my social life is greatly affected. It is hard to find a balance of my time. I enjoy all these hours I spend for carry out my work dreams and I do not have much left for me and my friends, for my family. This is probably a rare experience and I would wonder if other poeple share it and/or found their balance.

[vette68]

I feel alot like you do redshoes. I'm married to a woman I love and have 2 small children. But I also love my work. I started my garage almost 10 years ago after always loving cars. I've developed a successful business I believe because I truly love what I do, and we do good work & customers almost always return. But it difficult for me to pull away from work and this has caused problems at home. I enjoy spending time with my wife and children but have trouble sometimes making time for them. I feel bad about it fairly frequently. I also get angry sometimes when they impose on me doing what I need to do at work. I know that sounds selfish. I am trying to figure it out.

[sailaway]

My situation is very different from the previous posts. I've grown to hate my job, but don't know how to make a change or what I would change to. Thank God for my family and friends. Without them I think I would go crazy sometimes. I dread going into the office most days.

[Traveler]

I like my work very much. It is easy to isolate myself from other people and just work. Still, work is not who I am, but what I do. So, I try as much as I can to keep a balance between work and personal life.

[redshoes]

Sometimes it is hard to separate these two threads: who you are? and what you do? Isn't that many times people that you meet ask yo almost the very first question: what you do? Did anyone ask you: who you are? There is a higher weight on what we do and so we get to be identified by our status, work and as already so much highlighted on this website, money. I feel that even more in my work world where no one cares who I am but what I make. How do we balance that? How do we make people caring who we are and not what we do?

[Traveler]

I agree with you redshoes. It takes some originality to ask someone who he/she is. That's because we are classified very fast by what we do. Still, even in a competitive work place, what we do is not the same with who we are. There are many who can do our work, but still cannot be us, for better or for worse.

[blueeagle]

I agree with a lot of these comments. One of the first questions I get ask when I meet someone is "what do you do?" I know they mean what kind of work.

[sbo]

I think Americans particularly derive their identity through their work. Its definitely one of the first questions I am asked and I admit I ask when I meet someone new.

[ochati]

I believe that work does give purpose and meaning to our lives. One problem these days is we over-emphasize the value of certain kinds of work though, value equaling how much a person earns. Just think of the true value of our teachers educating our youth, a resource for our country, something we should prize and cherish.

[beehive]

Work and career are so emphasized. One of the first question asked when meeting someone is "what do you do?", always referring to their work. Its the main source of identity for many, many people. Its a much harder thing to explore and identify other parts of yourself. People think you are weird and "new-age" if you venture that way.