Life Balance Fallacies – Part 1

When you hear about creating life balance, do you cringe in overwhelm?  Do you believe that balance would be nice, but put it off to another day?  You are not alone. 

The fact is that most people don’t really understand what life balance is and make it much more complicated than it needs to be.  Let’s explore life balance by discussing what it is not.  In today’s and the next post we’ll unveil the two common fallacies that are out there.    

Life Balance Fallacy #1:  You must devote enough time, energy and attention to everything area of your life equally. 

This is nonsense, let alone, impossible.  Believing this fallacy can only bring about stress and either a feeling of defeat or that you are not good enough.  Personally, I can live without those outcomes.

Here’s the truth.  Just as every person is unique with one’s own talents, passions, and dreams, so too balance is unique to every individual.  It isn’t about tending to your work, relationships, physical health, creativity, etc all equally.  It is about spending enough time in every area to support the life you wish to create.  For example, my life just doesn’t feel right, and I become less happy (even grumpy) when I fail to acknowledge my creative side.  For me, all it takes is ½ hour of creative writing, four to five times per week, and the amount of energy, excitement, and creativity for everything else in my life expands.  Simply, without it, I shrink.  With it, I soar. 

What important part of you are you ignoring?

Take the first step toward creating a life in balance by taking 10 minutes to explore your passions.

1. Take a moment to write down a paragraph or two (or more) about what your life would be like if you could lead any life you wished.  It doesn’t matter if you believe it is possible or not.  What you write may lead you to real discovery so don’t hold back.
2. Use that information, to identify at least one thing that you are passionate about. For example, in your writings you may have described your life as an astronaut.  Ask yourself, what about being an astronaut appeals to you – perhaps the adventure of it, or you may love everything space oriented.  With this knowledge you can take steps toward either becoming an astronaut, or toward exploring adventurous things like sky diving or a safari, or if you love space, you can volunteer at a local planetarium, take classes on new space discoveries…  Get the idea?
3. Then, put it in your calendar so you may that experience your passion into your life on a regular basis.  If it will involve several actions, put those in you calendar.  As you complete them, you will feel great about moving toward your dreams.

In the next post, we will explore life balance fallacy #2.  Until then, happy exploration.