Through my writing on work-life balance, I’ve come to ponder something about this sought-after concept. Balancing your work life and your personal life sounds amazing.
You have all the time you need to work. To play. To spend time with your family.
But is this truly possible? Can we balance everything we want with everything we must do? And, if we can’t, is there something more than work-life balance?
I think I’ve come to a new conclusion. Work-life balance isn’t about having a perfect life. Instead, it’s more about doing the things you need to do.
This leads to something else. This leads to happiness.
Could Work-Life Balance Be Happiness?
Yes, you have to find a semblance of balance in your life. You can’t be all work and no play. You also can’t be all play and no work.
There’s a balance there. There’s also something in-between.
You can find happiness even when your life isn’t balanced. You can still enjoy time with people you love and care about and be unbalanced.
What work-life balance is truly about is learning to find your happiness in the messy middle.
Life won’t always be balanced. Most of the time, in fact. This shouldn’t stop you from doing your best to make your life a happy life. That is, in the end, what you’re after.
People seek after the balanced life because they believe it will bring them happiness. If I spend more time with friends and family, I’ll be happy. Right?
This isn’t necessarily the case. You can be miserable spending time with family and friends. You can be miserable sitting behind your desk every day.
But it’s your choice. You can choose to be happy with where you’re at. You can choose to be happy with whom you’re spending your time. And you can choose to be happy when you don’t get your way.
Don’t Stop Trying To Find The Balance
All this to say, you can, and should, still seek out a balanced life. You need to learn how to say no to an overbearing work schedule or too many outside commitments.
Discovering what makes you happy, creative, and fulfilled will go a long way to increasing your happiness and helping you find a balanced life. But you need to dig deep and dig often to discover what that is.
Know the ultimate goal isn’t to balance your life. The ultimate goal is a life well lived. One where you can reach the end of the line and say “That was good.”
Question: Do you agree? Is work-life balance more about finding contentment in life or is it something else? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.