Make a life, not a living

Make a life, not a living

Most of us tend to forget that we need to work for making a life and not to merely live. The fact that most of us ignore a healthy lifestyle and are more than just preoccupied with work and sedentary habits is more than just a big concern.

What we forget is that we, human beings, are not just in the world to make a living, but to make a life. And the true essence of life will elude us till the time we understand the importance of being humans and the precious life, which needs to be enjoyed every day.

If we work primarily to eke out a living, or because being idle is not a practical option, or because we want to get married, buy that car, get that EMI under control, or to live out an ego trip via our visiting cards, well, there is really no connect. We may as well stick to ‘managing’ our careers, gloat at the high points, tremble at the setbacks. Be ‘practical’, as they say. If we think that what we are as persons – our emotions, our reflexes, our strengths and weaknesses – is divorced from what we are as ‘workers’, then in any case it doesn’t matter how we live out the ‘work’ part of life.

However, since we do not acquire a new personality when we swipe the card when entering office, nor leave it behind on the way out, the basics and the traits that define us are not likely to be hugely different. The things that make for an individual of some credibility, and for a colleague of some standing, are not likely to be very different – and vice versa. Ergo, I am very honest ‘as a person’ but ‘work compulsions’ make me behave very differently where office issues are concerned, isn’t really an easy-to-sell proposition – even to oneself.

In short, we as humans should be infinitely more sensible to accept that we are not split personalities and we have a right to enjoy life, and this right cannot be compromised due to any one, including ourselves.

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