by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: July 25, 2011

Everyone has a certain lifestyle they would like to live, but most people are dissatisfied with their lot. Some people have decent careers that pay well and enable them to afford all of life's little luxuries. For others, life is more of a struggle as they contend with low-paying, unskilled work that brings very little security. Whilst the rich can afford a more comfortable lifestyle, they may not have the time to enjoy it. The poor may not have the stress of a demanding career, but they have other pressures that can make life more difficult.

It is therefore evident that most people have to compromise when it comes to the lifestyle they lead. For career-orientated individuals, success tends to come first, usually at the expense of other areas of their life. It is hard to maintain long-term relationships with anyone when you're always at work, which also means that finding time to raise a family can be a struggle. However, it isn't easy for anyone, even if you don't have a high-flying career. If you have a job that doesn't pay very well, you may not have the resources to start family.

Financial tensions within a household can bring about the destruction of a relationship and make it difficult for you to maintain the ideal family set-up. In an ideal world you would be able to have it all, but this appears not to be the case. Sometimes, you have to put your family above your career if you are to find the kind of balance that can make you happy.  Focusing entirely on your career may be fulfilling in the short-term, but what about in the long-term? If you have no one to turn to, how can you be completely satisfied?

The situation may not be quite as bad if you are well-educated with plenty of experience, because you are able to pick and choose what to do with your life. If you have very few qualifications and limited experience, you might have to take whatever job you can, even though this could mean working long hours for very little reward. It can be rather demoralising to work all the time and still not be able to afford to buy your children the toys and treats they ask for or to not have to worry about the household bills.

There are those who would say that if you are unhappy with your situation, change it, but it's very easy to say. If you have a career in which people depend on you and where there is a great deal of expectation on you, you may find it impossible to quit. You become accustomed to earning a decent salary and commanding the respect from your peers and although you may not have as much time to enjoy leading a more carefree lifestyle, you are unable to imagine life any other way. If you dislike your situation because because you have a tedious job that is poorly paid you may see little point swapping one rubbish job for another.

In a society where work seems to be regarded as more important than a happy family life and general contentment, it comes as little surprise that so many people feel that they are robbed of the kind of lifestyle they would like to have.

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