How To Find That Elusive（adj.难以定义的，令人困惑的） Balance Between Work and Life “Balance is beautiful.” - Miyoko Ohno, Japanese bridge designer
I have a close friend named Norm who is a great photographer and a great person in general … recently he was telling me that all he does is work.
That might sound familiar to some of you — I’ve certainly been there at different points in my life, although these days I have to say that I’ve found a pretty good balance between all the important things in my life, including work, family, and other things I’m interested in.
Work *Is* Life, To Some Extent
The first thing to point out is that work isn’t separate from life — it’s a part of it. For some people, it’s not a fun part of life, but for others, it’s a passion. Either way, it’s a part of our lives, good or bad.
Of course, when people talk about a work-life balance, they mean that we should find a balance between work and our personal lives, which is definitely true. But it’s important to realize that if work is really something you love, you don’t need to cut it short in order to spend more time at home in front of the television.
What Do You Love?
That’s the question to start with. My friend Norm loves photography, but I think he also really enjoys jiu-jitsu (n.[日]柔道) and spending time with close friends, among other things. For myself, my favorite things in the world include spending time with my family, writing, reading and running. What’s on your short list? Create your short list now, and then continue to the next section.
Creating Space in Your Life
Now think about all the things you do, and how many of them are on your short list. For the things not on your short list, what can you eliminate? Some things might be big commitments that are hard to get out of — but over time, you can get out of them. Learn to say no, and learn how to tell people that you can no longer commit to doing something.
Finding That Balance
Once you’ve created space in your life for the things you love, it’s just a matter of finding the right balance between them. You could have a life filled with all the things you love doing, but it could still be almost all work. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with that if you love your work and it doesn’t have negative consequences (on your health or family relationships, for example), for many people it’s better to have other things balancing out their lives.
