Work/Life Balance vs. Work/Life Harmony

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Regarding work and life, the word BALANCE never did it for me. Still doesn’t.

Balance conjures images of tightrope walkers steadying long and heavy poles, working hard to manage the opposing forces at play so they don’t fall over. Balance requires an even distribution of weight to achieve the desired outcome.

Do you really want to think about your life in this way?
How does it feel when you think you’ll fall over if everything isn’t balanced correctly?
Do you want to believe that work and the rest of your life are in opposition to each other?

I don’t.

If you’re like me, and need another word to express your desired relationship between work and the rest of your life, then consider HARMONY instead.

I used to play alto sax in concert bands and one thing I learned is that you do not need to have balance in order to achieve satisfaction.

Harmony is produced through the combination of multiple factors in varying proportions to experience a desired effect.

You have many instruments playing completely different notes at different volumes and, at times, different tempos.

All doing their own thing, yet coming together to create auditory beauty. These instruments do not require equal airtime in order to achieve harmony.

I choose to view the work/life interplay in this way. You can get the different pieces of your life to play well together, even when some of those pieces don’t appear to be balanced with others. (Check out this Forbes article for more on this topic: Life 'Balance' is Really More About Harmony.)
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If the desired effect of satisfaction is achieved, then who cares about balance?

You just have to figure out the right combination of work and other aspects of life that produces your desired satisfaction.

I can help you with that.

Drop me a message in the contact page of this website. And let's create your work/life harmony together.