Build a life, not a career

Life

This piece was inspired by a recent profile I read of English actor, Tilda Swinton. She has built a life in acting, not a career as she puts it. Bravely, she doesn’t allow the parameters of profit and other people’s opinions to taint or inform what she does. She is truly a representation of her best self, regardless of how others perceive her.

It really struck a chord with me. How many of us have spent years trying to build a career when really, should we focus on building a life?

I think for twelve or thirteen years, I’ve focused on building a ‘career’. It’s only in the last few years that I’ve realised the need to build a ‘life’.

They say money makes the world go round. I’ve found however that as age passes by, wealth (money) gradually loses meaning and ‘life’ takes on a new focus, measured through experiences. To build a life you have to embrace experiences (both good and bad) you’ve encountered and allow them to be ever present in what you do, at both home and in work.

Without experiences in life, we churn over the same old garbage day in, day out – robots on someone else’s wheel. The people doing the really cool stuff in ‘life’ are the ones embracing what’s happened before them,  allowing these experiences to reverberate into everything they do.

Importantly, bad experiences are just as important as good ones. They’re the things that make you whom you are, so it’s important to never shut them away completely. To do so is to deny your ‘best self’.

Experiences lead us to be more creative and far-reaching in our ideas. To question the status quo and come up with unique and brilliant concepts. They allow us to live and breath our life in all aspects and forms that it takes – be that at home or in an office. People in your life will also see the passion you have for what you do too – you become invaluable to them also.

I often hear the phrase ‘work/life blend’ used to describe those who blend their careers into their lives. But do we really wish to blend the two? To me, work/life blend conjures up images of a forced agenda into your life.

If we’re to be truly happy doing what we do then surely it’s simply ‘one life’?

Build a life that embodies your passions, experiences (both good and bad) and core values. Plot those experiences and identify the high points and the low ones – these will form part of your ‘life’.

It’s only when we’re ‘living’ are we being a representation of our best selves and producing our best ‘work’ in ‘life’.