Work life balance

Sometime around the 5th Jan 2013, there was a coverage in SBS news about work life balance. Sorry that I can't be bothered googling it to find some references for you, but the story goes like this.

Apparently, in the land of OZ, a lot of people think they are working waayyy too much. For example, this 26 yo female who is in the education industry and is currently working on her second book while editing her first book. She said that the demand of her working life is too much, and that has taken a toll on her marriage.

I am not sure if this is just a terrible story telling, but the impression that I got was along these lines:
(1) you work in the education industry - yes, your schedule is somewhat erratic because you don't really have the regular office workers' 9-5 (or 9-6 or whatever) because you have this thing called... marking. And also school fetes or open days or whatever.
(2) you don't have to write your books, do you? Are these not technically "personal" projects? As in you are not required to do this as part of your daily job? If you want to work less, how about you... write less?
(3) she appeared (at least on TV) to have a comfortable lifestyle - her apartment, for example, was way more spacious than mine. And she was carrying a Louis Vuitton Speedy. I can tell a lot from a person's handbag. In case you fail to make the connection, how about googling how much a Louis Vuitton Speedy costs.

I am of the firm belief that our lifestyles are a consequence of our choices. I get that some of us don't really have a choice (which is something that a lot of us say when our choices are limited), but for most of us, there is the choice of living a comfortable life (with all or the occasional luxuries) or just living a life, one that is enough for us to get by and enjoy it. In the latter option, I imagine you work in any job just enough to earn a living, and that's it. Nothing wrong with that.

What bugs me, is when people who for one reason or another ended up choosing the former option, are complaining on a later date because they feel they are working too hard. If you don't want to work that hard, then pick a different life standard and work less hours. There we go, I said it.

There are some of us in this planet who are pretty happy working hard. And this has nothing to do with the fact that we have no children. There are some us who are happy being productive and would prefer to spend our time at work. I mean, is this so hard to believe? Granted that this may not be for the rest of our lives, but the point is this: once you think that option is no longer bringing you optimum solution, then change your life. Of course it is hard(er) once you are used to a particular lifestyle, so you either suck it up and maintain the lifestyle or downsize.

An equally annoying thing is the mentality of human beings in general (and I am guilty of this too) - that we want everything to be easy. Most things in this life are not easy. Running, for example, is not easy. No matter how much I have been running in the past few months, running 5kms still takes effort, some days more than others, because I have to literally drag myself to the gym. I choose to run especially on the days that I don't feel like doing it. The effort is more on some days, and that's ok, because that's my choice to do those things.

I think it is worthwhile for us to remember that we have choices in this life and maybe, just maybe, take ownership of how our lives are turning out. There is nothing wrong with working hard because you want a bigger house or a better car or more travel - you don't have to apologise for wanting to work harder than the rest of the population. You just have to do it. Be different. Make a personal statement.