Why the Concept of Work Life Balance Is Absolutely Bogus!

There is an interesting concept that has become a common phrase in our day and age.  It is called “Work Life Balance” – something we never heard our parents talking about.

I was listening to a podcast recently, and the person interviewed shared a perspective that so many entrepreneurs and their families embody everyday – and that is there is no ‘work-life’ balance – there is just life (work, family, health, relationships) all bundled into one giant package.

Just as I was thinking about this, I came across an Australian article titled “Why Pursuing ‘Balance’ in life is Overrated“.

In the article, Psychologist and director of the Happiness Institute, Dr Tim Sharp says the pursuit of balance is overrated.

“Living a great life, in fact living our best lives often means dedicating ourselves to certain areas at the expense of others. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing (we can’t do or be great at everything).” – Dr Tim Sharp

The moment I walk through the door some days, my evening is just beginning but my work is far from being complete.

The same goes for weekends – when you are living your passion and purpose, you going after the next thing on your radar surmounts the need to have a ‘regular’ Saturday night.

There will be people out there who help cultivate this feeling of a ‘lack of balance’ in your life.

They will tell you that you are working too hard, or that you need to take time out for yourself.

And by no means am I insinuating here that there aren’t things that should be prioritized (namely family and health).

Before we had our son, my wife and I had regular date nights (in fact every night was date night!)

We made it a point to have meals together, usually at least once per day.  But we didn’t have conventional date nights. We sat at the table talking about business many times.

We would go on vacation and use it as a time to strategize and really align our life goals.  Just because you are talking about your business doesn’t mean you are working!

This whole concept of ‘vacations’ is also a new age phenomenon.  When I had a corporate job, people would tally their vacation days and countdown to their time away.

And don’t get me wrong, I love travelling.  It allows me to refresh myself and recharge and to take in new experiences (we rarely travel to the same place twice).  It also is a great time to spend many uninterrupted hours focusing on the family.

But I don’t vacation to escape my job.  I love my work.  There are days when it is hard, frustrating and all around stressful.

But there is so much fulfillment I get from building something of my own. And at the end of the day, I want to live an exceptional life more than I want ‘balance’.

Honestly though – it isn’t just about business.  It is about being obsessed with something and putting your everything into making it happen.

In the same article I discussed above, an excerpt from performance coach Brad Stulberg says:

Reflecting on the most ecstatic moments of his life (namely falling in love, writing a book, trekking in the Himalayas. training to set a personal record in a triathlon) he says: “During these bouts of full-on living I was completely consumed by my activity. Trying to be balanced – devoting equal proportions of time and energy to other areas of my life – would have detracted from the formative experiences.”

So what are you looking for – having a mundane balanced life where you spend ‘equal’ amounts of time on a bunch of equally uneventful things or to spend your life imbalanced, imperfect, chaotic but fully immersed in chasing your dreams and experiencing those heightened, adrenaline pumping moments that bring you immense amounts of satisfaction?

So until next time, happy Canadian Real Estate Investing.

Jose Jafferji, REIA