Many people worry so much about managing their careers, but rarely spend half that much energy managing their LIVES. I want to make my life, not just my job, the best it can be. The rest will work itself out.
Interpretation
Prioritizing life over career can lead to greater fulfillment and happiness.
This quote emphasizes the importance of balancing career ambitions with personal well-being. Reese Witherspoon suggests that while many individuals focus excessively on their professional lives, they often neglect to nurture their personal lives, which are equally, if not more, important for overall happiness and fulfillment. By stating her intention to make her life the best it can be, she conveys that a fulfilling life transcends mere job responsibilities and that good things will follow when one genuinely prioritizes personal growth and happiness.
In practice
In a motivational speech about work-life balance, one can use this quote to inspire the audience to prioritize their personal lives.
Somebody close to me once said, 'Oh, no man will ever accept your children.' And I just thought it was the most horrifying thing someone has ever said to me in my entire life. I was determined to find somebody who would make that not true.
Whether it was making my bed or making a movie, my mother and father never hesitated to say how proud they were of me, and that means so very much to a child.
A breath of steam trickles out, filled with the sobs of a grown woman breaking into girl-sized pieces.
Don't just live the length of your life - live the width of it as well.
Remember always, he said, that nothing is as precious to us as the magnificent gift of life. Let the moon and the stars always remind you of this-that though we are tiny creatures in this universe, we are filled with life.
And that's a life, isn't it? Some achievements and some disappointments. It's been interesting to me, though I wouldn't complain or be amazed if others found it less so. Maybe, in a way, Adrian knew what he was doing. Not that I would have missed my own life for anything, you understand. [pp.60-61]
Adoption was such a positive alternative to abortion, a way to save one life and brighten two more: those of the adoptive parents.
In her opinion, the parrots were annoying arrogant. You could buy the most beautiful one in town, she observed, but that won't make it love you. You could feed it, care for it and exclaim over its loveliness, but there was nothing to guarantee that it would stay home with you. There had to be a lesson in there somewhere.
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