Do you remember giving the balance beam a try in grade school P.E. class? Or perhaps trying to balance a basketball on the tip of your finger, like the Harlem Globetrotters?
Funny, but even when you got sure footing for a moment on the beam, or for an instant got the ball to stay on your finger, it wasn’t like you could breathe a heavy sigh and relax. “Whew. Finally balanced for good!” No. A loud noise from across the gym could blow your concentration and in an instant send you wobbling off the beam to the mat. A hiccup or a lightning-fast glance away from your finger would bring a quick end to the balanced ball.
So what’s so intriguing about achieving life balance given that the very word connotes something tenuous and fleeting? Wouldn’t you be better off to reach for a goal that doesn’t require constant adjustments every second?
What about life blending? What about having a comfortable blend of personal fulfillment and professional success? What if you didn’t look at your personal and professional lives as though they sit on opposite sides of an old-fashioned scale, requiring you to continually dart back and forth to keep the trays in balance?
I get tired just thinking about it, much less doing it.
You know if you have a comfortable blend or not. If you work 13 hour days, sleep 6 hours a night and so have 5 hours a day of personal time, that’s certainly not balanced but it may work just fine for you. If that’s your story and it doesn’t work, then perhaps you need to re-mix the blend.
Life balance is an attention-grabbing buzz word (or two) and has been for some time. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the hype and end up striving for something you neither need nor want.
Take some time to look at how you spend your time and see if it’s working for you. If it’s not, sit quietly for a bit and think carefully about what would make for a better blend. Then get to making it happen.