A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself he always seems to be doing both. Enough for him that he does it well. —L. P. Jacks
I’ve given a lot of focus to the whole “work-life balance” topic over the years. How much is too much work? How little is too little living?
And suddenly I come across this quote (usually wrongly attributed to Lao Tzu or James Michener), and it all suddenly makes sense.
If you can draw a distinction between what you do for a living, and what you love doing, then you might be doing the wrong thing.
I know, that’s easy for me to say. “I can’t just go quit my job to be such-and-such fantasy I have for myself!”
Have I? No. At least, not yet.
But, I’ve got a plan. I’ve got a vision. And what I’m currently doing is working towards achieving that vision. Not to mention, I do happen to love what I’m doing.