Fulfillment in life comes from a dynamic balance between work, love, and play.
The Essentials of what makes a life worth living: Work, Love, and Play
Fulfillment in life comes from a dynamic balance between work, love, and play. When one is overemphasized or another under developed, life tends to feels off kilter. But when all three are engaged well, one can feel more alive, clear, and purposeful.
Work is not simply employment or productivity; it is how we express our agency, competence, and contribution. Freud famously noted that “love and work… work and love, that’s all there is,” capturing how fundamental these activities are to life. Healthy work gives us a sense of direction, structure, and the feeling that our efforts matter. Work marks our participation in the larger world and often forms a part of identity. As such, activities like cooking a beautiful meal for your friends or family, or even planning a vacation, can constitute work. Yet when work dominates, it can crowd out the more tender or playful aspects of living. The goal is meaningful engagement- not endless achievement.
Love, in myriad types and forms, is the foundation of emotional well-being. It includes the bonds we form with partners, children, friends, and communities—relationships where we can feel seen, known, and valued. Love is where we practice the complex mechanics of intimacy: empathy, vulnerability, rupture, and repair. It both anchors and expands us, reminding us that we are not alone. Without love, accomplishments feel hollow; with it, even hardship gains meaning.
Play is the most easily dismissed and the most revitalizing of the three. In fact, perhaps it is THE foundation of both love and work! Donald Winnicott wrote that “it is in playing and only in playing that the individual child or adult is able to be creative,” highlighting play as a source of spontaneity, imagination, and aliveness. Adults often deprioritize play, but research consistently shows that play supports emotional resilience, problem-solving, and connection with others. It is not frivolous—it is restorative.
Together, work, love, and play form the basis of a fulfilling life that can sustain vitality, nourishing one’s growth over many years. A life worth living is about ongoing calibration: noticing what’s missing, what’s overgrown and needs pruning, and what needs more fertilizer. When these three domains are well-tended, it makes us more capable of joy, connection, and meaning— the stuff that make life truly worth living.
Work, Love and Play in therapy:
Winnicott tells us “ Psychotherapy takes place in the overlap of two areas of playing, that of the patient and that of the therapist. Psychotherapy has to do with two people playing together.”
Come play with us at Roots and River. And if you feel like you’re not sure how, don’t worry, we’ll help you find your way there.