Imagine being deeply in love with the person of your dreams. You’ve waited for this your entire life. They provide for you, cherish you and treat you better than any man has ever treated you before. Sounds great, right? Everything you could possibly want in a partner, right? Well, how would you feel if this same man told you that no matter what, his career would always come before you?

Earlier today, I had a conversation with a few friends of mine about their choice of career paths and how much of an effect it has had on their relationships. While I said that at this point in my life my career would not come before my relationship, two out of three seemed to disagree with me. Both women, who are well in their 20’s told me that they’ve even told their men, “Sorry, my career will always come before you.” Harsh? They think not.

Now while I totally think that my career is one of the most important things in my life, I could never fathom telling the love of my life that it will come before him. Even if this is a way that I feel deep down inside, I could never verbally express this to him.

The pride of a man is something that we have to be very wary of as women. While we may not think that the things we say have an effect on men, it damages them more than we can ever know. Imagine how difficult it is as a woman to hear that you come second to a man’s career – it’s really no different for him.

As much as I believe in a woman taking pride in her career and being able to obtain all of the success that she’s sought out after, I also believe that there needs to be some sort of balance. Balance though, is more difficult to put in place than most people can imagine.

There’s nothing like finding the person who supports your dreams, but if you continue to place them in front of him, what purpose does that serve? Finding balance between your love life and career is imperative. No real man will stick around for a woman that refuses to give him time. Ask yourself: what would you do if you were only getting 30% of your mate’s time?

I’m sure he’ll find a way to keep busy while you’re away…

What’s More Important To You?