The choice between having a career or making time for love is an extremely personal and individual decision. There are many factors which can affect your choice, and there are many people who have discovered how to achieve a healthy work life balance that allows them to have both.

事业与爱情之间的选择是一个非常私人的决定。有许多因素能够影响你的选择，许多人已经发现了怎样获得健康的事业与生活的平衡点，从而可以鱼与熊掌兼得。

Careers and love fulfill¹ us in different but important ways. Having a solid career gives us a sense of accomplishment² and self worth, aside from the practicalities of paying the bills. Many people develop their entire identity based upon what they do, elevating their career to a level of great importance in their lives.

事业与爱情以截然不同但都非常重要的方式给我们带来满足感。拥有稳定的工作，除了能够让我们支付各种账单的实用性之外，还可以给我们以成就感，并能够充分实现自我价值。许多人正是在事业的基础上确立了自己的身份和地位，并将他们的职业提升到了生活中非常重要的高度。

Then there are those who measure their success in terms of having a pleasant and rewarding home life. They develop their identities based upon the accomplishments³ of their children, and derive⁴ their self worth through the love and support of a spouse⁵.

然而，也有人是以拥有愉悦、满意的家庭生活为标准来衡量自己的成功的。他们将自己的身份和地位建立在孩子的成就基础之上，他们的自我价值是通过配偶的爱和支持体现出来的。

So what happens if you cannot or do not wish to make room in your life for both? While the happiest and healthiest people have managed to develop a work life balance that allows for both, it may not be for everyone. Consider these factors when pondering which is more important for you.

如果你在生活中无法或没有希望兼顾这两方面，那会怎么样呢?虽然最幸福和最健康的人已经设法拥有了事业与生活的平衡，做到了两者兼得，但并不是每个人都能如此。在权衡哪方面对你更重要的时候，不妨考虑一下这些因素。

1. Your career may be more important when you are young

1.在你年轻的时候，事业可能更重要

Many people these days focus on careers first and family later. The reasoning is that, while you are young and unencumbered, you have the time and energy to fully⁶ devote yourself to a career. If you have lofty career ambitions while you are young, it may indeed be the time to start making progress towards those goals.

现在有许多人都是先考虑事业，后考虑家庭。理由是，在年轻力壮、毫无牵挂的时候，你的时间和精力可以全部投入到事业中去。如果你在年轻的时候拥有远大的事业心，那的确应该抓住时机，向着那些目标前进。

Once you get married and begin to build a family, much of your time and energy -by necessity -becomes devoted⁷ to your family. This is as it should be. You should not start a family unless you are willing to devote time and attention to your loved ones.

一旦你结了婚，开始组建家庭，你的许多时间和精力就必然要投入到家庭之中。这是理所应当的。如果你不想将时间和注意力投入到你所爱的人身上，你就不应该成家。

Many people who accomplish great success in their careers when they are young, and establish themselves in a secure position, are then more willing and comfortable later on to devote themselves to family. By the time they do settle down, they are more prepared to handle the responsibility.

许多人在年轻的时候就已经在事业上功成名就，在建立了稳固的地位之后，会更愿意专注于舒适的家庭生活。等到定下心来成家立室的时候，他们已经充分做好了承担家庭职责的准备。

2. Falling in love can be better when you are older

2.成熟稳重时恋爱会更好

More and more people these days are choosing to wait when it comes to making decisions about family. It is not unusual for people to delay marriage until their late 30's or even their early 40's. Delaying family decisions allows you to be better prepared for those obligations, and creates a better Ukelibood5 that you are in touch with your most important goals and values. You have had the opportunity to completely grow up, greatly reducing the chances of feeling like you are "missing out." You have had the chance to purge⁸ the foolishness of youth from your system and are now confident with the wisdom of maturity⁹.

如今有越来越多的人在提到成家的决定时都选择等待。许多人会等到30多岁甚至40出头的时候才结婚，这已经不是什么奇怪的事了。晚成家的决定可以使你对那些家庭义务进行更充分的准备，并使你更有可能实现自己的人生目标和价值。你拥有完全的成长机会，可以最大限度地减少你觉得有所遗憾的可能性。此外，你还有机会蜕去青春的无知，充满自信地展现你的成熟和睿智。

3. Choosing Both

3.两者皆选

If you can find a work life balance that allows you to experience the joys of love and maintain a successful career, you will have a truly happy and rewarding life. A loving family at Home can help you celebrate all of your successes, and bolster¹⁰ your confidence through your failures. There are many people out there reaping the tremendous rewards that come with including love and work in their lives, and finding the balance that allows for both.

如果你能够找到事业与生活的平衡点，能够在享受爱情的政愉同时还保持事业的成功，那么，你就会拥有真正幸福充实的人生。相亲相爱的家人，不仅能够在成 功时为你庆祝，还能在失败时帮你重拾信心。许多人已经找到了两者的平衡点，拥有了事业与爱情双丰收的美好人生。

A life that only has room for a career, or that includes a consuming love that stifles¹¹ your personal development, is likely not a lifestyle that is healthy or fulfilling Our personal needs and feelings of self worth need to be met, which is normally gained from having a good career. Our hearts and souls need to be nourished , and we need companionship to support us through life, which normally are derived¹² from loving relationships.

如果一个人的生活中只有事业，或者只有妨碍个人发展的强烈的爱情，那样的生活方式就不能算是健康的或成功的。我们个人的需求和自我价值感需要得到满足，而且常常都是通过拥有一个好工作来实现的;但我们的心灵也需要得到滋养，我们需要有伴侣与我们相互扶持度过漫长一生，而这常常是通过爱情来获得的。

The truly healthy and well balanced person will recognize the benefits of having both. He or she will take steps to achieve the work life balance necessary to assure the continuation of career growth while nurturing¹³ and maintaining the health of personal relationships. It is only when we can maintain this delicate balance that we are living life to its greatest potential.

真正健康、正常的人会认可同时拥有这两者的好处。他必定会设法取得事业与生活的平衡，确保在保持良好的人际关系的同时，能够继续事业的良好发展。只有当我们能够维持这种微妙的平衡时，我们才有可能拥有最完美幸福的生活。