Myth of the five balls
It moves through the blogs like a meme: Life gives you five balls, one rubber, four glass. The rubber one is work, if you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four are family, friends, health and integrity: these will shatter if you drop them.

I am sorry, but this metaphor does not work for me. It is all integrated. If I don't have a job to go to, I will not be able to interact in a civilised and meaningful manner with my family, my integrity will shatter and my health - particularly my mental health - will crack. If members of my family are not healthy or have problems, work will not bounce, I will miss deadlines and opportunities never regained. The few friends I have are patient, reliable, and definitely bouncy people who appreciate the demands of work and family. And my integrity? That's the most bouncy thing of all. I do what needs to be done, and the integrity had better stretch to fit.

I will however agree that all these things need to be considered, and you can't live only at work. Me, I can't live only within the closed circle of family either, though. I need all my balls in play.

Found by way of Helenes Hengekøye