Freedom is often listed by business owners as a key reason for taking the big step. It could be freedom from working for that boss that you couldn’t stand. It could be freedom from doing unsatisfying work in your job. It could even be freedom away from your spouse, an individual outlet for your energies or talent.
It intrigues me then, that so much has been written about work/life balance. If being in business was designed to provide freedom, why do we need balance? Balance from what? Clearly, business doesn’t provide what we seek all the time. In fact once you get past the excitement of startup phase, it is often seen as the dark side. Personal Life, which takes a back seat for a while, represents the light. It becomes what commands our desire.
This interaction is at the core of any attempt to improve your world. You can’t have a great business without tending to it with significant hours, yet you can’t have a great personal life without keeping focus on it. Neglect one or the other and you will struggle.
So I’m calling it. There is no such thing as work life balance. Instead, there is an interaction between your Business Life and your Personal Life. At times, the mix will need to be adjusted according to your environment and the situations you find your self in at any point in time. Always living in either your business or personal lives 100 % doesn’t work, neither does splitting it perfectly down the middle.
The things that happen in your personal life have a direct impact on your business. When something occurs in your business, there is an impact personally. This constant adjustment is critical to avoid burnout in either world.
You then need to get clarity as to what is happening and take action on getting the integration right.
There is no balance, just a different mix. Is it time to adjust yours?
Checkout the Podcast below for more discussion on this topic
