Navigating Balance
Photo: In Her Image
The illusive work/life balance. Has anyone actually achieved it?
It seems fair to say that work/life balance is still a work-in-process for most people, myself included.* I’ll go out on a limb and even say it’s not sustainable. By definition life throws things in our way—illness, unexpected delights, change, traffic, natural disasters, falling in or out of love—that shake our alignment or knock us off balance. No wonder we struggle!
Here are a few tips for fostering sanity and serenity amidst the change and uncertainty.
1. Be specific about what needs balance—your time, your diet, your mood, your relationships—you can’t focus on all of it at once
2. Focus on quality over quantity—a deeply connected hour with a loved one or on a project is far more satisfying than an entire distracted day
3. Take the long view—Maria Shriver’s mom, Eunice, told her that you can have it all, just not all at once (paraphrasing). At one time you may need to focus on family, at another time, work. Know where you are and where you are headed.
4. Stay in the moment—if you can consciously be in your body and in the moment, you will do your best work and not be hung up on everything else that needs doing. And please don’t multi-task, there’s now gobs of data on how this is ineffective and inefficient.
5. Always be adjusting—like a jetliner or sailboat, you are headed from point A to point B, which will never be a straight line. In between you will constantly be course correcting, you’ll never be on the line, or at least not for more than a moment.
6. Guard your “Hell, yes!”—we all have to do things we don’t want to do or like to do. Watch out for saying yes to things out of guilt, shame, obligation or regret. If it’s not a “Hell, yes,” it’s a
“No, thank you.”
Changing your relationship to time (aka there’s more than enough) and your mindset around challenges (aka opportunities for growth), are critical steps in managing balance. Building your Sage with regular Positive Intelligence (PQ) practice is a great way to shift to a more positive perspective and to nourish more balance in your life and work. Jump on my calendar if you’d like to chat about your challenges with work/life balance.
*It’s important to acknowledge that being in a position to make choices about balance is a privileged one. I don’t take that lightly and try to come to this practice with a healthy dose of gratitude and humility.
Let it be easy.
Journal Prompts:
What part of my life most needs balance today?
Where can I focus on quality over quantity?
What is one “Hell, yes!” that I will protect?
