Why I No Longer Try to Achieve Balance

I used to try to achieve balance in my life with my goals and activities. No longer. Instead I like to think of every intention in terms of a teeter totter (or seesaw, depending on what it was for you as a child).

If you are on one end of a teeter totter and balanced….what? You just sit there. There is no movement or activity. Nothing to spur thinking, no excitement, no learning. It’s quite boring, actually.

If the teeter totter is moving (like my life), I have some highs and lows. During the highs, it is exciting! I take a risk and push off. I “teeter” with my surroundings and stretch my boundaries and can “see” different views. It can be exhilarating and a great opportunity for growth and learning.

At some point, because of forces in the world around me, or my own needs, I swing down to the lower part of the teeter totter. Down here “totter” - I have my feet on the ground and can be more thoughtful about what I “saw”. I can rest and gain strength for my next push. I can look to the sky and plan for future possibilities.

This is more how my life operates and is now how I embrace it, instead of seeking balance. There are sometimes weeks where I am more focused on coaching or a project, some days where I need to focus more on my health, or some periods where my kids are home and I focus on family.

Setting my goals and intentions then revisiting them regularly helps me to be aware of what is important to me at that time. I no longer look for balance, but rather, accept these different swings. The ebb and flow are needed for me to learn, grow and see new opportunities. This is what it takes for me to be fully alive and truly cultivate what counts.