Question: How does one balance work and life, and especially family and children?
Sadhguru: If your work is not life, I do not see why you should do it. Your work also is life. Would your life happen if there was no work? – Do not think of only the economic aspects. Do not ever make this demarcation that there is something called work and life. Different aspects of life need to be dealt with. You probably spend more hours at your workplace than anywhere else. When this is so, is it not important that we make this into a beautiful experience?
One of the important things that people should do is – I know people are trying to keep them apart, but I would say that is a mistake – allow family conversations also to revolve around various things that you are doing as a part of work. This will build a completely different level of trust. And you do not know what kind of insights may come from trusted people – not some other commentators – who are outside observers to your business and activity. People whom you trust, and who love you and want you to succeed – their input may be extremely valuable. It may be your wife, it may be your five-year-old child, you do not know.
So, I think there should be no such demarcation. Why cannot work conversations be very interesting if you are creating something? Family could get involved in it and when you are at home, though you may not be actually working hands-on, you could still be thinking and evolving things for tomorrow or for the future. I think it is very wrong for people to work for five days and live for two days a week. It is a horrible way to live. You must live all seven days.
