When I ask this question “do you work to live or live to work? You may say, “I work to live.” However are your actions and decision consistent with this response? Below are 10 questions you can ask yourself to find out if you truly work to live.
Why the Answer to This Question is Not Simple
I think society has taught us – “To be happy we should work to live and not live to work.” as no one on their death bead ever regrets not working enough. As a result, whenever anyone is asked this question, very few would ever admit that they live to work. It’s just not as cool. Our quick answer that “I work to live” actually means – “I want to work to live. I don’t want to live to work as life is too short. ”
However our actions at work and in life may tell a different story. Our desires about work and life are unfortunately not always consistent with our daily actions. The true way to access where you are in this spectrum of live to work vs work to live, is based on the decisions we make daily.
10 Questions to Ask Yourself
I would venture to say very few people are 100% “live to work” or “work to live” people. You are most likely somewhere in the middle. Answer these questions below to find out how you are making choices today.
Disclaimer – These questions are only relevant for white collar workers who are paid a salary vs by the hour.
- Do you work more than 40-45 hours a week?
- Have you recently told your kids or spouse, you cannot do “xyz” with them on a night or weekend because you needed to work?
- Have you recently decided to not take vacation or shorten your vacation in order to get more work done?
- Do you stress about work so much that it affects your sleep or your quality time with family/friends?
- Do you really want to get promoted even though if you made your current salary, your family can live comfortably?
- Do you spend a lot of your time outside work, talking or complaining about work?
- Are you putting off taking care of yourself (regular exercise, hobbies, annual checkups, massages, etc…) because you need to work?
- Do you have any hobbies outside of work?
- Are you learning anything new outside of work?
- Are you contributing to the world in any way outside of work?
How to Interpret Your Answers
There are no right or wrong answers to these 10 questions above. I am only trying to give you a real gauge of your decisions today. This is your life.
If you answered yes to any of the first 7 questions , you actually “live to work” more than you think. It’s natural to perhaps think about work a little outside work hours. However, exam how much mental and emotional energy you are spending on work topics outside of work hours. If it’s a lot, you “live to work” even though you may want to “work to live.” Is that okay with you? Well, only you can answer that questions for yourself.
If your answer is no to any of the last 3 questions, you also “live to work” more than you think. If you only have work as the main interest in life you cannot easily “work to live” as you have not figured out how to live beyond work yet. That may be harsh to say, but it is a reality check. If you have limited passion outside of work, then work naturally will mean more to you as a result. Is it wrong? Again that’s completely up to you. If your work is truly your passion and you love it, then “live to work” is what makes you happy. That’s awesome too.
So What?
Now that you had a chance to look at this, will you change anything in your future decisions?
As for me, I am working on #4, 6, and 9. I want to “work to live,” however I still stress more than I would like about work. I also find myself talking about work a lot. I also realized I am not learning anything at work at the moment. It’s the source of my stress and complaints. I need to find something to learn both at work and outside of my work to feed my mental curiosity and thirst .
At the end of the day, our relationship to work is a learning journey in itself. As we get older and get to know ourselves better, we can choose to make different decisions. I look forward to my evolution. I hope you are too to yours.
Your comments: Am I missing any key questions? Do you live to work or work to live? I look forward to your comments
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Lei