Raise your hand if you’ve been advised to find balance in your life. ✋ It seems like every self-help guru on the planet is selling balance as the key to everything.
A few common examples come to mind:
- Work and Life: Don’t be a workaholic. Make time to spend with loved ones and pursue your passions.
- Kids and Relationships: Your relationship can’t be just about the kids, right? Be sure to spend time with your partner.
- Diet and Exercise: Work out enough to stay healthy and limit junk food.
There is also a quest for balance in other situations. I have Type 1 Diabetes and am told to balance insulin, carbohydrates, exercise, and stress.
It all sounds good. Just think of how amazing life could be if we learn to balance all the things. We could all look like the happy people in those anti-depressant commercials.
The problem is that none of this seems to add up in reality.
Who Can Afford Balance?
The common thread of balancing work and life, kids and relationships, and diet and exercise is they all require time and money.
Tell the person who works two jobs to make ends meet that they need time off to ride a roller-coaster.
Tell the couple with a sick child and no help that they need more time together.
Tell the person who works too much and lives in a food desert to watch those calories. Oh, and hit the gym while you’re at it.
Most of us don’t have the resources to accommodate balance. Much depends on where you live and your life situation. Some people have a better shot at winning the lottery than such bliss.
No, balance is for the tech “visionary” who can afford to take a year off between startups. It’s for the actor who travels to immerse themself in another culture. It’s for the politician who doesn’t have to worry about affordable health care.
We Need a Better Term
The concept of balance is wonderful, but the likelihood of it is far-fetched. It’s great for selling books, seminars, and TV appearances. But it’s also out of our grasp.
Maybe we should find a more accurate term to describe what we’re after. Something like “pockets of peace”, maybe? How about “moments of reflection”? That’s all most of us have time for these days.
Perhaps I’m being too much of a downer here. However, I feel like we’ve been handed a bill of goods. Much like the selective happiness we see on social media, hearing others speak of balance seems like an impossible dream.
I think the real joy is in creating goals we can achieve. With that, I’m off to find my peace pocket. ✌️