Speaking candidly, the Shape of You hitmaker said, “I think in the first decade of my career I was intensely unhappy as I had no balance, I was just work, work, work. And yes, everything was hyper-successful, but it was hyper-successful because I had no personal life at all.”Sheeran, who broke onto the global stage in his early 20s, said his life then revolved solely around writing, recording, and touring. “Being able to spend time with my friends and family — that has now become 70 percent of my life, and work is like 30 percent. “The balance of getting to exist as a human being rather than just a pop star machine — that would be my measure of success,” Sheeran emphasized. Today, Sheeran describes himself as “happy and settled,” finding joy in both his music and his personal life.