Work/Life Balance Is not a Noun-The ACTION of finding our positive balance
I sometimes get asked to speak on “Work/Life Balance.” From my studies of Positive Psychology and from my own experience, I’ve found that this balance is not something we can FIND. That’s because we use words as if this balance were a noun, when in reality it’s an action verb. We cannot find balance because it’s a continual action with constant adjustments, just like the tightrope walker who constantly moves his pole to keep from falling.
We like the idea of a magic formula that, if we knew it, our lives would suddenly become balanced and stay that way. Yet we all know there’s so much fluctuation in the needs in each area of our life that what’s working for us now will likely not work next year, next month or even next week.
My daughter, who’s now 11 years-old, is very vocal about pointing out when she feels we haven’t been spending enough time together. “Mommmmm! You’re always busy and you don’t do anything fun with me anymore!” This is an obvious indication to me that I need to readjust my balancing. Other areas of my life that may need more attention aren’t so easy to “hear.” In an attempt to get more in tune, I’ve added a positive affirmation to be intentional about adjusting the amount of time and energy I give to the different areas of my life (work, family, physical health, spiritual health, friends, etc.) as needed and to be sensitive about the current situation of each. This “positive balancing” is definitely an action verb!
Consider the different areas of your life right now. Do you need to make some changes to your positive balancing?
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Tina Hallis, Ph.D. is Chief Positivity Officer of The Positive Edge, a company dedicated to helping people and organizations increase their positivity to improve the quality of people’s work lives and the quality of company cultures. She is certified in Positive Psychology, an authorized partner for Everything DiSC®, and a Professional Member of the National Speaker’s Association.
