Career Over Family, by Q. Reyes – Artistic Warfare #57

January 17, 2010 Q. Reyes 2 Comments

Unless you’re rich and successful already, it’s an impossibility to juggle a flourishing career and a good family simultaneously.  You can bet that if you try to do this, one or the other will suffer – and it’s all your fault.

I see celebrities, for example, who juggle extraordinarily busy schedules and a family, and you can trust that if they have a successful enough career, they will not be the best homemakers.

It’s easy to handle a family if you have people who do all the work for you.  It’s easy to have a career if you’ve already got it made.  Try to come from poverty and do both and you will fail miserably.  You’ll fall quicker than a Denny’s cashier ringing up Tiger Woods.

It’s hard for me to understand how we never want to admit what is right in front of our faces.  The truth is that a successful career requires massive effort, time and full-focus.  If you’re putting all these resources into building a career, then how can you possibly be giving the same to a family?

A family is a lot of work and it requires more time than most people dedicate.  A successful family is different than just a family.  To have a thriving family you need to work hard and be a part of other people’s lives as needed. What happens when career and family call at the same time?  What trumps what?

Some people make the choice to be mediocre at both family and career.  They’re okay with following their dreams on a part-time basis, and in another way they’re okay with seeing their family once in a while.  Some people work while spending time with their family.  Sounds like a win-win… until the family gets tired.

I grew up poor, so right now my choice is career.  I have to make sure I get out of poverty and bring everyone around me with me, so that I never go back.  After I accomplish this, it becomes a lot easier to be a great father or a great husband.  Not that people should wait, but if you choose to have a family, take care of that.  Don’t half-ass both your career and your family.