Is Achieving Balance Even Possible?
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Not necessarily.
And here’s the best part – don’t sweat it.
Over the weekend I went for a walk in beautiful cottage country while listening to Danielle Laporte and Marie Forleo (you can get the free ‘telejam’ MP3 HERE if you’re interested). There were a few points that they made that really resonated with me and brought me considerable relief.
Danielle spoke of the following:
- ‘There is no such thing as life balance’
- There is, however, ‘…life proportion’
- ‘The pursuit of life balance is causing us stress’
- This pursuit ‘…squelches your creativity’
And…
Wait for it………..
‘Sometimes work is the most important thing in your life – IT’S ACTUALLY MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR KIDS’
G-U-L-P! I actually feel that way sometimes when I’m on fire with a new idea or new business venture or actively taking my business to the next level.
But I also feel GUILTY.
Now don’t get me wrong. In a black and white situation where I had to choose work or my kids – it’s an obvious choice – my kids, of course. But life is not black and white and involves a multitude of variables that keep us functioning, moving forward, passionate about life, happy, etc.
Danielle points to the undeniable fact that…
‘People who have achieved greatness did not do it in balance.’
And there it is.
In black and white.
To be WICKEDLY AWESOME at what you do – you will have to do it out of balance occasionally.
… AND THAT IS OKAY.
The good news is that there is one thing you can start being really conscious of TODAY.
That is, being PRESENT with those who are important to you, in the time you have with them (this last nugget from Marie). So basically, if you make the time you do have with your kids/husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend/etc. high quality – it can smooth the edges and make it all worthwhile.
The BOTTOM LINE today is pretty straight forward – but VERY important (in my humble opinion):
- It’s okay for your priorities to ebb and flow based on where you are in your business
- Achieving greatness requires things to be out of balance for a period of time – try to really embrace that concept
- When you do have time with your loved ones – MAKE IT COUNT and be truly PRESENT
That does it for today. I’m guessing many of you who are doing the balancing act can identify with this post. If that’s true, feel free to comment and if you know others who you feel this will also resonate with – please pass it on via email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is always GREATLY appreciated.
Tags: Mom Photographers, work/life balance
6 People have left comments on this post
This is so true. Being a mom, wife and a business owner is tough. As you know, I recently had to make a big decision regarding my business, and I’m so glad I did! My kids are going to a babysitter two days a week now just to give me that extra time for my business. It was a really hard decision to make, but I feel so much relief now that things are falling into place.
Hey Jen,
I was definitely thinking about you when I wrote this article. How fitting that yours is the first comment!
I have recently been realizing more and more that the key to happiness and success is in the present moment. It took me a long time and a lot of growing to embrace that concept. However, I am not giving up on balance yet….with occasional bursts of creative action that is….I think that balance is greatness. There is room for our lives to be rich and full on many levels. You can have everything…just not all at the same time.
So true, Anna!
I love kids so for a long time I though I would be a full time mom! I realized that you need a balance to be happy, can’t spend 24hrs a day everyday with kids. Balance is the key to grow!
Words of wisdom from everyone!
I am not a mother myself, but balancing daily life between jobs and those in my life is still a difficult task. I look forward to the added challenges when or if I have children.
Life is a balancing act and I am the jester, juggling for the King.