500 Words a Week - Is Balance Overrated?
Balance is something that we are told to aim for, be that work-life balance or balance between that with which we are pursuing and other external aspects. However, is balance overrated? Think of the people you admire, who have achieved or done things you respect and are inspired by. Are they balanced? My vote is no, they probably aren’t. To become prominent in a specific field one needs to devote a substantial amount of time to that topic. Often forsaking other aspects of life along the way.
In last week’s blog, we looked at two ways in which passion can go awry. Obsessive passion (everything motivated by external rewards and praise), and fear-based passion. Steve and Brad discuss how we should strive for “harmonious passion”.
However, what Steve and Brad remind us of is that “harmony with a passion can still lead to disharmony in other areas of life”.
“Balance is more often than not an illusion, especially for someone who is wholly absorbed in a passion. Instead of striving for balance, then, the passionate person should strive to be self-aware”.
You need to be aware of what you are giving up, of what you are sacrificing in attempting to achieve that which you most want. What you don’t want to happen is for several years to flash by, then when you look beyond you, you realize all the things you missed that you were completely unaware of.
“Mindlessly living with a passion can be extremely harmful and destructive. Mindfully living with a passion can be the key to a life well lived.”
I’ve really enjoyed “The Passion Paradox” by Brad and Steve, it’s helped clarify thoughts and feelings around passion. Perhaps my favourite comment from the book is: “The only wrong choice is losing the ability to consciously make one”.
We have control over our life, control over what we want to do. I’ve discussed before how I felt stuck in a role in a city where I wasn’t happy. Upon making a decision to move, I felt like I was taking ownership of my life, of where I wanted to be and who I wanted to be with.
Balance is something we all struggle with. Like mentioned above, striving for balance may be an illusion for someone who is wholly absorbed in a passion, however as long as they are self-aware, they won’t look back on that time negatively. As long as they can zoom out and appreciate what they are doing.
An important point on this is that you need to be conscious about how those close to you feel about what you are trying to pursue and accomplish. It might be ok for you that you are aware of what you’re sacrificing in order to go where you would like, but do those close to you feel the same way?
