Conscious sacrifice
My work schedule is demanding. The work load has increased recently. My work day lasts about an hour longer each day, which translates into an hour less at home enjoying the domestic scene. Is it worth it? Is it necessary? Will sacrificing those extra hours now pay off for me and my family in the future? These are the questions I’m asking myself. I have not yet come to the conclusions. There is no doubt that the extra hours result in extra compensation. In certain ways, that makes our lives easier. At the same time, although I am compensated additionally for the extra hours, I am not as able to keep up with the household chores or get enough rest. This puts strain on my relationships and health as I become less rested, less energetic, and have less time to get everything done. So how do I find the balance? I expect there to be some amount of sacrifice and toil in my life. From
what I hear, life is not just a walk in the park. Actually it’s quite hard to get by, even in a land of opportunity. So the question really is: how hard is too hard? I don’t want to sacrifice my health, physical or mental, for success and
comfort. I don’t want to sacrifice my realtionships either. Those things are worth much more than a salary. That’s definitely true. At the same time I accept gladly that life is not all peaches and cream. I take my work seriously and work hard to get it done. But how will I know when I am working to hard? I’m guessing it’s like love; when you know you just know. It’s nothing someone can give you a formula for. For the time being I am going to keep on working hard because I don’t think I’ve quite reached that danger point where work and personal life are imbalanced. I’m going to
be conscious of the trade offs and strains that I see forming. If I get too wrapped up in it I hope I’ll see it before it creates problems.