I want to talk a little bit about balance. If I’m being honest, I have been resistant to the word balance for some time now.
I was recently on a date where we got into it over this very topic. My date was sharing that he wants to have more balance in his life and not work so much. I went on the defensive saying, “Well, I don’t believe in balance. I think that balance does not exist and I love working. Working is so great for me. I just love it!”
But, since I’m still being honest with you, what I said to him didn’t really feel quite right either.
I have been a little confused about what I actually believe when it comes to balance. On the one hand, I don’t believe in traditional balance. The form we are all familiar with, where half of your time you spend on work and the other half play. I don’t necessarily believe in half and half. I don’t really think that’s how it works.
But, on the flip side of my defensiveness, I do believe in having fun and having time off. I like to watch Netflix and go on vacations. It’s nice to unplug and not work at all for a couple of days. I think we need to have time off like that, right?
So, I was a little bit confused about what I even believe when it comes to balance.
I was talking to my booking manager about podcasting. We started talking about balance, and I was trying to explain to her what I really believe when it comes to my podcast. She said, “Well, so you do believe in balance. It sounds like you do.”
I found myself quickly saying, “No, no, no! You don’t understand.” And then it hit me. I said, “I think we need to redefine balance and what it really means.”
Ding ding ding!
I am so tired of the extremes. Everywhere I go, everywhere I look, it’s all I see. Don’t get me wrong; it makes sense. It’s so easy to market an extreme, whether someone believes in balance or not.
Some people are in hustle mode 24/7, and for them, it’s work work work and no sleep. And then there are others that claim to have so much balance. “I just sit with my laptop on the beach, and I never have to work. Everything works automatically for me. It’s so great!”
It’s one of those two extremes that I typically see and could never really relate to either one. I don’t think that I should be working 24/7, but I also don’t think I should be laying on the beach 24/7 either. So where do I fall in?
It’s that damn gray area that is so hard to market. I needed to talk about this because I know I can’t be the only person that feels this way.
If you’re passionate about your business, then you’re excited about the mission that you have. You want to share your message and the impact that you want to create in the world. So, of course, you want to do the work! You want to get out there and talk to people and do all that it takes.
But, on the flip side, if you’re doing that 24/7 you’re going to burn yourself out. Fast. You’re going to need to take some time off because you can’t be completely creative ALL of the time. You can’t keep tapping into that side of you without taking any time off for yourself.
I do think that there needs to be that conversation about redefining balance. What does it really mean for you?
What does balance look like in your life, and what does it need to look like? What do you have to do in your business and in your life to feel fueled? We all need this fuel to keep our creativity burning and to help us stay on top of what we want to accomplish.
What kind of balance do you need to operate at your highest capacity when it comes to smart hustle?
Something that I actually do is, I needed to let go of feeling guilty. I felt bad about taking time off, going out, meeting friends, dating, traveling.. even bingeing on Netflix. There’s nothing wrong with doing any of these things, but I still always felt guilty.
I’d see messages on Facebook from different influencers saying that you have to hustle 24/7. Pretty much “If you don’t do this, you suck at life.” Well, that’s how I took it anyway. But, I don’t really think all of that is true.
What I have been doing is making committed, dedicated actions at the beginning of each week. On Sundays or Mondays, I’ll create a dedicated commitment - a declaration - to get a certain amount of specific things done. This helps move me towards reaching the goal that I have rather than just filling my day with busy work.
It’s easy to say “I’m hustling! I’m doing this! I’m doing that!” But, so often it’s busy work that isn’t bringing you any closer to the goals you want to accomplish.
So, I decided to release these things, let my team take care of them, or just not do them at all. Rather, I choose to place my energy into focused action and work on getting specific things done.
And the rest of the time? If I want to get a massage in the middle of the day, I do that. That is balance. If I want to go on a date, like, five times a week because I’m online dating and it’s tough? Sure, I’ll do that!
It’s all really about understanding what balance looks like to you. It does not have to be one extreme or the other. What do you dedicate yourself to doing this week that is going to push you towards your overall goal? What are these dedicated actions that you need to take?
Give yourself permission to relax if you want to. Or, start working on another project and hustle doing busy work. But, be aware that you might be doing this to fill your time because you'd otherwise feel guilty or unproductive.
I’m all about awareness and being intentional with the work that you put out. Be conscious of what you’re doing, and that will support you in creating the impact and business that you desire.
I’m looking forward to hearing some feedback about how YOU redefine balance, so let me know what you think!
