There's no such thing as balance
I spent a lot of time in my college years chasing balance. At the start of each quarter, the word “balance” was my mantra going into a new term, hoping that I would finally find an equilibrium between school, work, my social life, the gym, and all my other responsibilities. When my friend Laura Bruner coined the term “balance is bullshit,” it opened my eyes that I could spend my entire life chasing balance without ever finding it. This is yet another example of the dangers of destination thinking, a blog topic for another day. Laura pointed out that while she may experience moments where she feels that everything is in balance, she will continue to appreciate the constant ebb and flow that life brings.
When I was in college, I always told myself that “next quarter, I’ll balance things out,” hoping that I would be happier and less exhausted whenever that time came (it never did). However, doing so leads me to forget to enjoy what’s happening right in front of me.
We have to learn to enjoy the unbalanced moments—the moments of chaos, not having it all together, and not feeling quite satisfied. We have to be satisfied with the dissatisfaction. That, I think, is the point of life—constantly working to perfect things and chase a better life, while still finding joy in each moment. Learning to accept that nothing will ever “fall into place” has been integral to living a joyful and present life. If you find yourself painstakingly yearning for “balance,” I challenge you to let that go for a moment and bask in the glory of the perfectly imperfect.
Laura Bruner's website and Instagram links:
https://www.instagram.com/laura.radicalroots/