Why I hate the word "balance"

What does it mean to live a balanced life? What aspects of your life do have to do less or more of in order to live a balanced life? And even if someone told you that there were five key life areas that we must bring into balance with one another, how would you even know when you've achieved this balance that you're searching for? The answer? You probably won't. 

The actual word, balance, refers to being in a state of equilibrium. At first, this seems like a super great state to strive to be in. When you're living in a state of equilibrium, everything is perfect! There are no forces working against you and you just get to remain steady as you go through life, without worrying about doing the "right" or "wrong" things.

There's just one issue - as humans, our lives are not meant to be stagnant.

We are continuously evolving, ever changing, adventure seeking, innately curious creatures. And while we tend to seek comfort in what feels familiar to us, our innate curiosity and inquisitive nature have us constantly exploring and expanding. Without that, our lives would be super duper painstakingly boring af.

When you think about it that way, the idea of being in constant balance in all areas of your life sounds a bit restrictive, almost limiting in a way. It leaves zero room for exploration or change because if you're striving for the perfect "balance" in life, then once you find it (whatever "it" may be for you), you better as hell not do anything that could throw you off. You're almost inevitably trapping yourself in this one, perfect, socially constructed version of you.

In striving to live a balanced life, we're creating our own black and white thinking. You're either in balance. Or you’re not. Being in balance = good & not being in balance = bad. But since there's no RIGHT or WRONG definition of how to live a balanced life, you're setting yourself up for constant failure. Because if you don’t know what it is that you're actually striving for, well, you're never gonna get there.

You're always going to be out of balance because you're on an invisible chase toward something that doesn't really exist.

So now what?

Ditch the balance mindset. Instead, start following what YOU like to do, what makes YOU feel good, and trust that in moving toward what feels good, you will flow through life as you navigate the beauty surrounding you and overcome any challenges that arise along the journey with ease.

xo,

Em