Hmmm, I think this is dependent on who you talk too.
I don’t think our work-life balance is ever static as adults and to assume or expect that it will be is setting ourselves up to feel like failures.
For the purpose of this post we are assuming that the concept is rubbish, but only to show that we all need to be flexible in finding some type of balance in our lives to remain healthy.
I do cringe when I hear the work-life balance and how we can all achieve it. And my younger self (prior to kids) would have thought differently too. Now, the effort is about finding some meaningful balance at this very moment.
Our lives are fast-paced and they change significantly at times too, so being flexible is key to surviving these days.
I really think the ‘balance’ comes from knowing ‘who we are’ and what ‘roles’ we participate in as the key to living a better life and therefore finding the balance. Because once we know who we are as an individual we can then prioritise the significance of a role and the amount of time and energy required to fulfil it and that is how I believe that we will find our balance. Some days there will be no balance, and sometimes we will have made some big decisions which mean there are some big changes, big amounts of time required to move house, for example, to start a new business, to build a veggie patch. So for a period of time during certain activities, we will feel like the balance is not there and let’s face it it isn’t because we know that we need to expend that time and energy to reach a desired a goal. But once the goal/s is attained then slowing down and allowing life to be a little different will create the balance required. If however, that time frame is long and time and energy become stressful then small steps need to be put in place to create balance in our days and our lives.
If you have any issues creating, finding, even considering balance in your day to day life let me know at masteryofdoing@gmail.com
Bronwyn
