Live to Work? Or Work to Live?

Right now, I am struggling with this question: do I want to "live to work" or "work to live"? Right now, my career is at a crossroads. Either I can rededicate myself to trying to "get ahead" in my career, or shall I continue to collect a paycheck so that I can seek fulfillment from non-work pursuits? I think most people face a similar choice, and it really comes down to where one finds meaning in their life from their career, or from activities outside of their career.

In my last post, I mentioned that I am a software engineer by trade. For as long as I could remember, I really didn't give much thought to my career. I enjoyed my work and got a lot of fulfillment out of it, but I never really gave much thought to the long term direction of where I wanted my career to go. However, several factors have started to get me thinking about where I want to end up in the long run. The main catalyst is the fact that I am not getting any younger, so if I really want to make a "go" of something, then I need to do something now before time runs out on me.

Basically, I have two choices. If I continue to "coast" in my career, I will certainly be playing it safe, but most likely I will be giving up on serious career advancement. Eventually, I would retire after a comfortable but unimpressive career. On the other hand, if I decide to take a more active role in advancing myself, I might end up saddled with more stress from the extra responsibility, and I could have less time for my extra-vocational activities.

The other issue is the fact that if I did dedicate myself to my career, I would most likely have to leave my stable position for the uncertainty of a new workplace. My current job is like a comfortable shoe: I know what to expect and I can probably stay there for as long as I want to. On the other hand, my current company does not afford much upward mobility. Promotions are few and far between, and at the current rate of advancement, I would probably end up being close to retirement before I could ever become a Project Leader, let alone something higher. If I wanted to advance in my career, it is clear that I would have to leave for greener pastures. However, if I forgoe any aspirations for getting into a leadership role, staying where I am would be perfectly fine.

The last thing that clouds the issue is the fact that I graduated from Princeton. You see, having graduated from an Ivy League school (with honors I might add!), I am starting to feel a certain pressure to put my education to good use. I have tried not to let that affect me in the past, but lately it has become something of a burden to me. In the past, I could shrug it off by saying that I am just in the beginning stages of my career, so I still have a ways to go. However, now as I get older, it seems like there is some internal pressure within my soul to do "something" with the exceptional education that I was lucky enough to obtain. I guess the main question is whether or not this "something" should come from my work, or from something else.

I have gotten some clarity from an article that I read on the web written by that esteemed scholar, game show host, and actor: Ben Stein. The basic message is that if you want to make a name for yourself at something, you have to give 100% of yourself over to it. Otherwise, expect to coast by without reaching your potential. It seems like the key thing is to find something that you are so passionate about that giving 100% of your effort towards it doesn't seem like a burden. The question we all have to answer for ourselves is what in our lives do we want to give that type of effort towards.