The problem with the “Work hard play hard” mindsetOne of the most bizarre parts about going to law school is that you and most your friends go from starving students to well-off lawyers basically overnight. When I was working for the law firm, I was making enough money to do whatever recreational activities I wanted. I ate at the trendy new restaurants in DC, drank all the specialty cocktails I could handle, and never turned down the opportunity to show up an hour late to some concert as the loser still wearing business-casual attire. It turns out that “work hard, play hard” is a horribly inefficient way to get enjoyment out of life. I was living the classic “work hard play hard” lifestyle. But it turns out that’s a horribly inefficient way to get enjoyment out of life. Unless you truly love your job, the “work hard” part means you’re losing out on a lot of time when you could be doing something you care about. And the “play hard” part winds up feeling empty, because you’re trying to compensate for all that lost time.Once I started focusing on the question of how I wanted to spend time, and with whom, the answers unfolded naturally. While I was on my road trip, a friend from college asked if I wanted to help him get some chocolate made as holiday gifts for our friends and family. Neither of us knew anything about chocolate. But we wanted to go to Nicaragua. It seemed like as good a reason as any to go explore the jungle down there.
Source: I engineered my career to give me the adventurous life I always wanted – Quartz
Recent information suggests that I may have to find the strength to do what this guy did.