Work Hard, Play Hard

One of the sayings my Dad often used growing up was "Work Hard, Play Hard". What's more significant is that he really lives this principle more than any other person I know. Working harder and longer than any man I know, to the point sometimes that it would appear to someone on the outside that it consumed him, he always knew how to take time for fun. Not just average family fun like board games or cards (although we did a lot of those things). We are talking hard-core fun, like flying, boating, traveling; and at times, all out partying! He would always remind my sister and I while playing hard that: "When it's time to work, we work. When it's time to play, we play ... hard."

Growing up, I never really liked this philosophy; we should play all of the time! In my youngest years, I failed to understand the lesson he was teaching. In my mind, if there was such a significant gap between working and playing, why would anyone work.

As I continue to experience more of this world, I realize now that he was framing in my mind a concept that later would have more meaning for me than many other things I would learn. What he was teaching me is that when we work hard, we are building our experiences and personal self worth through a job well done. When we play hard, we express ourselves while enjoying the fruits of our labors. Work Hard, Play Hard is not a chasm between two extremes of fun and misery, but rather an all encompassing expression of finding fulfillment in all of the aspects of our lives.