Life Isn’t Work and Work Isn’t Life

How many of us use our work as our primary identity.  I’m guilty as charged.  If you want to live your best life possible and experience art to its fullest capacity you have to be more open to the craziness of life.  By embracing more than just work you will be more resilient, happier and more powerful.

Confront the facets of life and weave them into your artistic life

Conflict, love, pain, happiness these are all a part of the difficulties and joys of life and if you are in the practice room only concerned about your orchestral excerpts and don’t leave to see the sun you’re at risk of missing out on how to handle life and are using work as a cover so you won’t deal with life.  

You need to be able to relate to people in some capacity but if you are in the deep lairs of the practice room you will have more of a difficult time relating or connecting to others.  Like most humans, we have to deal with life and our art.  We need to be good managers of our lives and figure out what our personal and work routines and systems are. There will be times when our artistic work will be the primary and other times our personal lives will take precedence. However, if you find one being more dominant consistently you need to step back and figure out why.   

Here are some thoughts as to why we need to actively add non-work activities in our life.

Valuing others

Do you find yourself making judgments as to who is the most important?  We have all done this at some point in our lives.  We assign value to those who can give us something.  This transactional system is often how society works and it can be really damaging to you and that person.  We need people and we cannot expect people to jump to our every need when we only approach them or something.  Relationships with people are also important.  If we become so focused on our work we lose our humanity and people are not seen as human beings but potentially as a means to receive something. Be kind, be of service and be vulnerable.  Your energy will attract others especially if you respect others and work towards being kind to others.

Valuing yourself  

Constantly working doesn’t make you better it just means that you are working while others are not.  Again, this is not to say you shouldn’t put time into your craft, there is a time and season for everything.  Most people that get work, get the work through connecting with others.  You will not be doing that if you are only putting yourself in one place (which is the unfortunate adverse effect when you are not available like everyone else).  

You are worth more than your work.  Nourish yourself by giving yourself a needed break. When your work is the primary definer of who you are you will be burned when work doesn’t happen the way you planned it. When you are treated unfairly at work or by a boss, colleague or even if you don’t live up to your own standards you will be devastated.  It’s not worth the emotional toll and life moves on too.

I know you have heard this plenty of times but no one ever said I wish I practiced the Mozart just one more time before they died.  We think of people we love and the experiences we want to have. Take inventory of what is missing from your life and make it a priority to fit it in.  You don’t have to do everything all at once, that’s impossible. But you need to live a life without resentment.  

You’re not efficient.

Get organized.  Let’s be real, if work is what you are doing constantly, you’re not organized enough, get it together and snap out of it!  What is the most important thing on the list, who can you delegate the work who knows what they are doing and why on earth is it taking you so long?  Don’t you ask yourself: how does so and so do it? They have this and that and are able to do XYZ.  Well, it’s because they are more efficient than you so you have figure out why are you working so hard and not working smart. 

Life is not work and work is not life.  You can live a more fulfilled life by slowing down and assessing your current situation. It will take time to change but do a little bit each day or week and you will have greater balance and clarity that will not only help you be more efficient but also bring you more peace.