Work Hard, Play Hard!
Walking a fine line...
I know you’ve heard the saying “Work Hard, Play Hard” right? Well I’ve heard it plenty but I haven’t been very good at living by it in my professional life. I work hard, period. So hard in fact that play is an afterthought if even a thought at all. By the time work is done there’s nothing left for play. You know what; I’ve come to realize that’s not the best way to live. Life is too short and needs to be experienced to the fullest so I’ve been working at finding a better balance between my work and play side, in addition to my other sides (but that’s another discussion altogether).
I’m very fortunate to be gainfully employed to do what I enjoy, which for many people is not the case. Don’t get me wrong, some days (weeks even) I outright hate my job and everything about it. And I mean every single, solitary, minute aspect of it drives me to want to quit and open a bed and breakfast somewhere. But for the most part I recognize the blessing bestowed on me that allows me to do what I love. My job used to involve a lot more international travel but in the past year or so we have not had the opportunity to leave US soil. So when the opportunity arose for me to travel to the Cayman Islands to work during the 2009 Cayman Jazz Fest, I jumped at the chance. And yes, I think I literally jumped when my boss brought up the trip.
Don’t get me wrong, when we work we WORK, usually pulling 14-18 workdays and I hardly have the opportunity to enjoy the locale I happen to be in. But hey, life could be worse. Did we work? Hell yeah! But I found time to enjoy the fact that I was enjoying 75- 80 degree weather daily with no rain for a full week in December while back in Atlanta the temperature was hanging around 35 and raining with the threat of snow. So I made sure I spent as much time as possible on the beach and in the ocean or simply walking down Seven Mile to the Captain Bakery for beef patties and an assortment of pastries.
Lesson learned? I need to enjoy my life more and continue to work on that balance between my professional obligations and the obligation I have to myself to do things that make me happy. What’s the point of working myself to death and not even be able to look back on my life when I’m 80 and say “I worked hard, I loved hard, I played hard and I did it with humility and integrity.” That’s what I aspire to and that is what I commit to.
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They actually let me "drive" the ship, suckers!
The crew hard at work
That’s beautiful i so believe in working hard and playing Hard! We should all get the opportunity to enjoy life outside the scope of work (or in your case, along with work). Whenever opportunity knocks and we can jump we should. Kudos to you that you are exploring these avenues with mite adventures to come.