Work Hard, Play Hard

Happy Monday!

Hope you all had a great weekend. I am pumped that the weather is staying relatively warm and delaying the cold cold winter that I am still remembering from last year, so thank you weather! And remember if you are in the Albany area come check out my cooking class, FREE, this Thursday, November 19th at 6pm at Whole Foods Market Albany to learn all about how to make (and taste test) healthy holiday side dishes!

Every Monday I have been dishing out my thoughts via this blog. I like to stick to providing you with food, fitness and nutrition but sometimes I have thoughts on the more mental aspect of your health and I like to divulge a bit. If you missed the past few Mondays, check them out here, here and here for more of my sassy musings. 

This week I want to talk a little about work and play. A lot of us get lost in the day to day and forget that we are meant to enjoy this life. One of the key phrases used at my college was “work hard, play hard” and while that can sometimes have a negative connotation I want to shed some light on it today and show you how you can have some work-life balance in your life.

I think work-life balance is a bit outdated. Sure it is ideal to think that we can work our 9-5, leave and go home and be with our family and friends and play the rest of the day. However, we no longer work 8 hour days and we have far too many responsibilities to think that we can just play and have fun when we get home at night. I get it. However, something has to give. We cannot always be waiting for weekends and holidays just to find some relief and pleasure, what would be the point of life? We need to find the joy in our every day so that life is a bit more rewarding and fulfilling.

Work Hard

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard” 

When we work for what we want and what we believe in, it’s SO much more rewarding when we see results. Is it easy? No way. Is it worth it? HECK YES! Work hard now so that you can be proud of what you accomplished today and every day after that. Every day is not going to be sunshine and roses but it should be a part of your life and not just your work. You should think of your work-life balance as more of a blend between the too. After all, you do spend more than 8 hours a day, 5 days a week at least working so why not make it a part of your life.

How do you do this? Well that my friends is up to you. Enjoy those that you work with, find fulfillment in your work and share your work experiences with the ones you love the most, don’t keep it separate (unless of course you are super secret agents and have to!) I find that when my hubby and I share our work day with each other (good or bad) we gain more from our lives because we worked hard at what we wanted and then got to share it with the ones we love. And speaking of the ones you love, you should work hard for those relationships as well, it’s worth it.

While sometimes it seems that you can rely on talent for your successes, remember the blood, sweat and tears are what make it all worth it in the end. Sure you may never be a CEO or an Olympian but that doesn’t mean you aren’t a good human being with a solid work ethic that anyone would be proud to call a friend. Leave it all on the table and watch what happens.

Play Hard

“Never get so busy making a living, that you forget to make a life.”

Wow, that quote hits me like a ton of bricks. We can get so caught up in careers, money, and more and forget that our life is a lot more than bills, paychecks and taxes. This doesn’t mean you get to go out drinking on the town, do things you regret and wake up with a pounding headache, no, no, no! This means that you need to make sure your life is not passing by outside your cubicle window. I’m not saying quit your job and travel the world (but hey, I’m not stopping you either). Make sure that the blend between your work and your life is such that at the end of the week you can name at least 3 things that made you smile over the past week. Get out there and start living, after all we only get this one life we might as well enjoy it. Play hard and don’t apologize for it if it’s not hurting anyone (which it shouldn’t be). If you enjoy golfing, make time to hit a few, if you love food, go out to dinner with friends or invite them over, if you love reading books, READ MORE! Whatever it is that makes you happy and allows you to feel like you got a recess for the week, do it and do it often. Don’t apologize, just do it and be grateful for it.

Ok, that’s all I have for you today. Work on blending your work-life balance today and see if it makes a difference in your week.

Stay tuned, later this week I will be releasing some healthy side dishes for your holiday season (or year round), in the mean time check out my post from last week to get some ideas!

Have a happy and healthy week!

xoxo,

Sassy