Balance is a myth. And I say that even as you see the image I picked out for this post, which is a fairly extreme example of balance.
I mean who in their right mind would actually balance a spoon on the edge of a calculator? And then place a pile of coins on one end and spear a potato on the other?
If it isn’t sheer ridicule that the image conjures up, it’s absolute brilliance. It’s catchy, it makes you think and hey, it gets people talking.
But, no, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Balance by itself is a myth that is being perpetuated over and over again in circles today, online and offline. If we aren’t doing it all and doing it well, all the freaking time, we’re not doing it. That’s it.
That’s the myth we’re expected to take as gospel truth and pass it on from one generation of people to the next. Ad nauseum.
It drives me insane to hear that people are unable to find the balance and guilt themselves for it. That feeling of inadequacy crawls up out of your gut and sucker punches you, because you’re being told this in so many different ways.
So first I want you to pause the whirring in your brain, that crank machine that tells you balance is within your reach. Because here’s the truth: It isn’t.
The sooner you accept this, the better off you’ll be.
Next, I want you to breathe. Slowly, calmly.
Now, how many hats are you wearing? How many balls are you juggling?
Trying to keep up with everything isn’t the problem. Trying to be perfect at everything is the problem.
There are days when I don’t fold my laundry. But, my client work is complete.
Then there are days that my laundry is all folded, but my laptop hasn’t been opened all day.
Life isn’t about finding balance. It’s about being in the moment. It’s about celebrating the tiny joys and crying over the losses. And guess what! That’s okay.
You want actual balance?
It’s important to remember that we’re blessed with this gorgeous, wonderful life with all its aches and pains.
The aches tell us that we’re alive. The joys tell us that it’s great to be alive.
That’s the only balance that matters.
I resonate way too much with your post.. It was a good read
Thanks for the reminder shylaja
It’s the same with me. It’s hard to balance work, the child’s homework, attending the home chores, documenting & planning the upcoming things. It does overwhelm me.
But from you, I’ve derived this nectar of managing things without losing my mind. Yeah, on days my maid doesn’t come, I know the dishes in the sink will eat my time away from the laptop. And when it’s a school event or craft activity for my child, I know I have to pour my heart into her, because these moments won’t come often as she grows up. When too much of blog indulgence engulfs me, I take my own sweet break from it (usually an indefinite one). And when my blog has crucial needs, I let the chores wait for me till I warm up to them with the same kind of enthusiasm.
In the nutshell, I don’t do things HALF-HEARTEDLY anymore. For we certainly cannot do all things in the same slot of time. Therefore, the BALANCE.
This is a beautiful post, Shailaja.
And thank you so much for telling us that it’s okay when you don’t get things done as planned. Nothing could make us feel more natural & guilt-free. You’re so different from the rest of the productivity ‘quacks’ online who claim to live an error-free life in a Utopia they have created with their productivity.