Career VS Life (an attempt at understanding happiness)

A long time ago my father told me there are two types of people in this world.
Those who live to work, and those who work to live. Originally I took this to mean those people who love their job and those people who hate their job, but over the years this observation has taken on new meaning.

My parents have always been work to live people. Their jobs are something they do to support their lifestyles. It’s not that they hate their jobs, on the contrary. They both find their jobs to be challenging, rewarding, and sometimes its even fun. But work in their eyes is a means to an end. You are not your job, you are not your possessions, and all that really matters in life is the relationships you build with people.

Then there are the people who’s jobs take up so much of their life it becomes their life. Their personal lives and professional lives blend and overlap so much that its hard to discern business from life.

Now it seems to me that the secret to a happy life is having pride in oneself or ones work. This is where the two beliefs overlap. The people who work to live typically have pride in the work they do in their personal lives. Be it raising their children, being a good husband/wife, or volunteering. The people who work to live find the same sort of pride but in their day to day jobs.

More often than not whatever you find the most pride/satisfaction in is what you care about the most, and work hardest at. This leads to a dilemma of sorts. I’ve noticed that the people who live to work often have personal lives that suffer immensely from this lack of attention. Likewise those who place their family above all else typically will not find themselves in positions at the head of industry, the government sector or artistic circles.

So this issues seems to ultimately breaks down to the choice of Career Vs Life. Now I’ve been told by many people all that matters in life is the personal relationships you’ve developed. And on your death bed you won’t care about how much money you made, but how well you lived. This would lead most people to assume that working to live is the path to a happier more fulfilling life. It seems that this is more likely the path to happiness, but that is not to say that some careers can't bring about that kind of contentment and sense of satisfaction.

I think people look back on their life hoping to see that they made some kind lasting mark on the world. To see that they left some sort of sign that they were there, and are proud of what that is as it is. Because it is not only a sign of what they’ve accomplished it's a sign of their existence. For most people this ends up being their children and friends (relationships). Children act as a sort of way of passing on their beliefs and genes, and in a way their children are their legacy. But a career can also be as fulfilling. People in religious professions often find incredible amounts of pride/fulfillment in their work. Social advocates also often look back on their life and see their work as more important than themselves or their families. Even some artists see their work as a means of bringing about a better world. These people find that their work has meaning and value beyond themselves. For work to live people their legacy is often the ideas and change they brought to the world. There is a common trend in all of these examples. What appears to bring about the most happiness and personal satisfaction is providing for others. The old adage of its better to give than to receive is true. Ultimately what people hope for on their death bed is to be able to look back on their life and see that they left the world in a better place then when they got there. That they gave back more than they took.
So I think a career can be as fulfilling as ones personal life, but it seems that there are only a handful of professions that ultimately allow for that. Any profession where making money is the chief reason for its being often leaves one feeling hollow. Money acts as a temporary fix but doesn’t provide indefinitely. Money's only purpose is to support something greater.
In the argument of Career VS Life one must realize that it isn't a choice of one or the other. Extremes at either end will lead you to rune. You can’t have a great personal life without having a professional life to prop it up financially much the same way one can’t have an amazing career without the emotional support of some sort of personal life to keep one mentally stable and sound. So the question of Career VS Life isn’t really accurate. It’s not about choosing one and leaving the other because that just isn’t possible. It’s about maintaining a balance. True happiness doesn’t lie at either end of the spectrum but some where in the middle.