The Work/Life balance, and when to make the leap...

I wanted to write for a job.  To do that, something had to give in the rest of my life.

I sat down and made a list of Needs and how much they cost - pension, savings, bills - all the boring stuff that has to happen no matter how hare-brained your schemes.

I then made a list of Wants - the things I desired to brighten my days.  Not exclusively material items, it was harder to put a price on these - but necessary nonetheless, to decide what I could afford to give up if I had to, and what I simply wasn't prepared to do without.

At the bottom of the Needs & Wants list, I arrived at the magic number - the amount I must earn to both make ends meet and life worth living.  Based upon this, I planned to live and earn in a different way.  If you pay for your Wants doing something you dislike, they become tainted because obtaining them made you miserable.  You resent, rather than relish them.

Why does work have to feel like it?  Life is short.  Try things, make things, bake things!  Barter your brilliance for another's excellence, freeing up your time to pursue your dream.  Yes, of course you have to pay the gas bill, but who says you can't have a laugh while you're doing it?

I made a conscious decision to enjoy as much of every day as I could, because I wouldn't have that time again.  I had to make it count towards something - my future goal, or my present comfort.  It's hard sometimes.  Things don't always go according to plan, but if you know it's a temporary aberration rather than a permanent state of being, the drudgery's bearable. 

For your life to be different, you must change it.  If you don't, tomorrow will be the same as yesterday, and only you know how you feel about that prospect.

If it's time, make the leap.  Tip the balance in life's favour.  I guarantee you won't regret it.