Is there such a thing as work-life balance? I’m probably not going to be very popular with my answer: NO! But hear me out. Balance is a word I have trouble with. I’m a yoga instructor and we always work on balance. It’s critical for development of strength and fall prevention. However, is balance what we want to achieve in life? Do we really want to balance life and work? As I said above, NO!

Balance means equal. If it’s yoga, then it’s an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain steady. If it’s about our personal time and work time, then it means a condition in which different elements are equal. And that's where I have an issue with work-life balance. It’s never equal, no matter how hard we try.

There are times my work takes 100% of my time and energy and effort, and there are times my personal needs take 100% of my time and energy and effort, and there are times my family takes 100% of my time and energy and effort. It’s never equal. If we have work-life balance, that means we are spending all of our energy balancing the two and not enough time actually harmonizing the two. Imagine standing on a bouncy ball and “balancing." It’s exhausting, and we never really achieve a state of balance; we are either swinging to the right or the left and never in an actual balanced state.

What if we changed up wording a bit to make things not equal but more in harmony with each other? Harmony is such a better word because it means a positive state of inner peace, calmness, as well as the feeling of being in tune with the world. It’s not about balancing, it’s about having the ability to deal with the different areas of your life and understanding how much to give to maintain peace. So when your family needs you, then you can focus on family. When your work needs you, then you can focus on work. It’s ok to be out of balance as long as you are in harmony. Unlike balance, nothing is ever 50/50 with harmony. The percentages change based on what’s needed at that moment. And that’s ok!

So the next time something comes up about work-life balance, consider changing the wording to harmony. It may give you a different perspective. Instead of juggling work and life, it’ll allow you to be in tune with work and life. It may allow you time to create agreement between work and life. Sometimes wording matters to our psyche. And I would agree — words matter.

Work-Life Balance or Harmony?

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