I've had only one job in which work/life balance was non-existent. "Crushin' it" was part of company culture, and I, as an early employee, was a poster boy for

I've had only one job in which work/life balance was non-existent. "Crushin' it" was part of company culture, and I, as an early employee, was a poster boy for it. It never occurred to me that I could have (and should have!) taken a step back & allowed myself to live like an actual human being. My work and my family life suffered, while I continued to wonder why I wasn't doing as well as I could be. Turns out that the main barrier was me. After leaving the land of "crushin' it" I've gone on to be part of other companies where it became clear that I have the power to push back against unreasonable demands without harming my performance at work or my prospects at the company. All it took was a quick experiment: I went home at 5pm one day, then the next day, and before I knew it I was no longer logging into work after dinner. Weekends miraculously cleared up, too! Vacations became about having fun, and I no longer even remember what a corporate-issued LTE modem looks like. This lead to all sorts of other realizations, such as: I thought I was in firm control of many aspects of my life, whereas in fact I hadn't exercised as much control as I could have. I've gained lots of happiness points by running small experiments like the above.