Christian Career Coach: Don’t Let Your Career Take Over Your Life: A Personal Journey

Finding your career calling is a truly amazing feeling. After years of searching, trial, and error, you finally land on something that gives you purpose, drives your ambition, and makes you excited to wake up in the morning. But what happens when that passion for your job starts to take a toll on your personal life?

I know this feeling all too well. I absolutely love what I do, and I’ve found so much fulfillment in my career. However, there’s been a downside to this success—a 20-pound weight gain since I fully dove into my work. It’s hard to admit, especially since I used to be a gym rat, someone who competed in amateur bodybuilding shows and was incredibly proud of my fitness achievements. I worked so hard to overcome challenges with weight in the past, only to find myself slipping back into old habits as my career took center stage.

The Career-Passion Balance

When you finally find what you love, it’s easy to let it consume you. Suddenly, the workdays get longer, and the to-do lists get bigger. You push yourself to keep up, and before you know it, your career has started to seep into every corner of your life—sometimes at the expense of your health, relationships, or well-being.

I’ve always been someone who gives 100% to everything I do, and for a while, I convinced myself that my dedication to my career was more important than anything else. But here’s the thing: When we let our careers take over completely, it can lead us down a dangerous path—burnout, stress, and, in my case, weight gain. And that’s when I realized I needed to make a change.

Why It’s Important to Prioritize Yourself

Your career should be a part of your life, not your whole life. Yes, loving what you do is a gift, but there has to be balance. Ignoring your health and well-being while focusing solely on work is unsustainable in the long run. If you’re not physically, mentally, or emotionally healthy, it’s going to affect your performance at work too.

For me, it was my fitness that started to take a hit. I found myself making excuses—skipping the gym because I was "too busy," grabbing takeout because I didn’t have time to cook, and letting my stress levels build up because I wasn’t carving out time for myself. It was a slippery slope, and suddenly, I wasn’t just gaining weight; I was losing that sense of discipline and structure I once had.

Making Time for What Matters

So, how do you stop your career from taking over your life?

1. Set Boundaries: It’s easy to let work bleed into personal time, especially if you’re passionate about what you do. But setting clear boundaries between work and personal life is crucial. Set work hours and stick to them. When your workday ends, log off. Take your evenings and weekends to recharge.

2. Prioritize Self-Care: You can’t pour from an empty cup. Taking care of yourself should be a priority, not an afterthought. Schedule workouts like you would a meeting. Make time for meals that fuel your body. Spend time doing things that make you feel good—whether it’s going for a walk, meditating, or getting enough sleep.

3. Revisit Your Fitness Goals: If fitness was once a big part of your life (like it was for me), don’t let it fall by the wayside. I had to remind myself how much I loved working out and how it made me feel. I started setting small, manageable goals to get back into the swing of things—starting with just 30 minutes a day of exercise.

4. Remember Why You Started: It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind, but take a step back and remember why you started this career journey in the first place. Chances are, it wasn’t to sacrifice your health or happiness. Reconnect with your purpose, but don’t forget to bring yourself along for the ride.

Finding Balance Again

I’m still on the journey of balancing my career and my health, but I’ve learned an important lesson along the way: Loving your job doesn’t mean you should neglect yourself. You can be ambitious, driven, and passionate while still making time for the things that matter—your health, your relationships, and your well-being.

I’ve started to regain control over my fitness and am working on shedding those 20 pounds, but more importantly, I’m learning how to find balance. And if you’re feeling the same way—like your career is starting to overshadow other aspects of your life—I hope this serves as a reminder that you don’t have to choose between success and self-care. You can have both.

Take it from me: Don’t let your career take over your life. You deserve a life that’s as fulfilling outside of work as it is inside of it.