Blending part 2

I recently posted about the idea of blending life and work as opposed to trying to balance them. Offline I had some interesting discussions about people’s thoughts in response to this idea. One friend pointed out that it’s different for a business owner to live a blended life, as they have a greater connection and usually a greater reward from the business. That, of course, business owners would live and breath by the success of their business because it’s “their baby”.

In my prior post, I wasn’t trying to advocate for “24/7 workaholism” nor was I meaning to imply that people should not be focused on their families, friends or themselves and put work completely aside at times. All are important to living a healthy lifestyle, being rejuvenated and exploring all aspects of life. Instead I was advocating the idea of viewing yourself as a person who has a family and friends, hobbies and a career, someone connected to many different communities…that the various aspects of your life do not have to be separate from each other and specifically from work. That at times you’ll spend more time at work than in other areas of your life and at other times you’ll work less so that you can volunteer your time for your child’s school project or to take time off to care for a friend in need. The balance of where your energy and focus lies will shift. But during all of these activities you are learning, connecting and doing things that inevitably impact other areas of your life.

At the Boston Pink Magazine Conference in October, Marilyn Carlson Nelson of Carlson Cos, reflected upon all of the life goals she has had and achieved. She noted that early on she knew that she could have it all and do it all…but that she just couldn’t do it all and have it all at the same time.