Life is full of contradictions.
It's hard. And yet as soon as you accept it's hard it gets a little easier. (Reference "The road less travelled")
It's too short to get hung up on trivialities, but yet life exists in the small moments and little details.
It's so easy and comfortable to tolerate the common and ordinary, but only those that dare to dream and devote themselves to do extraordinary things have any chance of truly making a dent in the universe (reference: Steve Jobs).
And yet, while so many people work endless hours chasing their version of greatness, on their death bed, many simply wish they had spent more time with their family.
There's contradictory advice for every situation. Wisdom is knowing which advice applies to your specific circumstance. The reality is, actually, that the correct course of action depends almost entirely on what you're optimizing for.
Which is really the key to all of it maybe. Having the clearest possible sense of your grandest vision for yourself (reference "Conversations with God") so that you can balance the contradictions in such a way as to drive the outcomes you ultimately, truly want. And (this is key) recognizing - happily - that you chose the outcomes when you finally get them (be careful what you wish for!)