We all struggle to obtain a balance in regards to family, work, and our social and personal lives. We believe that reaching a perfect point of equilibrium, symmetry, and stability will curb some of the chaos we encounter while giving us a greater sense of control.
But maybe it’s the misperception of our need for balance that actually throws us off-kilter and leaves us feeling a bit wobbly.
I started off the year thinking that my life was a little precarious, so I endeavoured to make some changes. I thought that if I made a greater effort to distribute my time and energy equally, I would feel more in control and therefore more content. Instead I was left exhausted and discouraged. Only when I uncovered the true meaning of balance did I realized that I’d been chasing an elusive state, a false perception of what managing life is really about.
Through further study, I came to understand that it would take great effort and concentration to maintain this static position, this sense of stability I thought I needed. Obtaining this kind of balance would require me to divide my life into equal parts of equal weight.
This immediately became an unrealistic goal, one that could only be achieved for a few fleeting moments at a time before the natural forces of life flowed back in.
Life is never lived in balance. It’s in constant flux, constant motion, so what matters more is learning to define our priorities and find our happiness within these ever-changing seasons. We must be willing to shift our position when our priorities conflict, enabling us to keep moving forward.
One of our greatest human strengths is the ability to let go, adapt, and thrive in life’s constantly changing landscape. When we strive to create a level playing field by preventing this natural ebb and flow, we end up stagnating.
“Life is like a bicycle,” Einstein brilliantly observed. “In order to stay upright, we must keep moving.”
So I’ve decided to hop on mine and take this amazing life for a spin!
