Balance or counterbalance?

Do you seek balance in your life, or should it be counterbalance?

A definition of balance is a situation in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions. Is this your life? Where everything you do balances everything else out? So, if you work eight hours, you then have eight hours of play and eight hours of rest. Does this sound familiar? Does it reflect how you lead your life? Possibly not.

In seeking to achieve life balance, does it add more pressure, stress and anxiety to your life? Does it add to your sense of failure, becoming something else you haven’t achieved or another goal you haven’t reached?

For me, life is not about balance. It is about counterbalance.

A definition of counterbalance is to correct something that has an equal but opposite effect.

Let me explain. I had a busy week, which concluded with me working 15 hours in one day. All I could do when I got home was slump in front of the TV for a couple of hours, then off to bed. No eight hours of rest or play for me.

However, the next day, to counterbalance this, I walked Jazzie, my Westie whirlwind, before going into work later than usual. I then finished early, enjoying my time walking Jazzie before I got home. I spent the rest of the day relaxing with my husband, doing enjoyable, restful things.

The only effort involved on my behalf was to identify beforehand that a busy period was coming up and to block out time for me to do the things that I enjoy and love. It was a counterbalance to my busy work schedule, with the opposite effect of working those long hours.

There will always be periods in life when you dedicate time to something in particular that takes time away from other things in your life and prevents balance. This may be due to a looming deadline at work, a business deal that has to be completed or exam cramming.

To achieve things in life, you have to choose what is important at that time, resulting in an imbalance in other areas of your life. Other things won’t get done, or you won’t have time to spend on other areas of your life. This is the reality of life and life’s choices.

However, for your self-care and personal life, make sure you counterbalance this later with enough rest and play.