Quit worrying about balance.
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WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT. Work at it, if necessary, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now. -P.T. Barnum [his CAPS, not mine; don't be a hater]
Are you worried about how much sleep you’re getting at night?
Are you reading articles about work/life balance?
Are you rearranging your calendar so you can fit in personal time, family time, work time, social time, and ping-pong-championship time?
Oh, look at that, you just scheduled your passion right into the metaphorical calendar-dumpster.
You can’t schedule passion, and passion is what it takes to start from ground zero and build a thing up.
You can’t balance passion.
You have to throw some stuff straight out the window and not even look to see where it hits the ground and what kind of splat it makes on the sidewalk.
You have to let your passion drive you and quit trying to be the mythical, all-American, over-achieving, perfect-in-every-area, balanced person.
This person does not exist.
If this person did exist, he/she would not be self-employed, a writer, an entrepreneur, or a creative artist of any kind.
How about instead of worrying about balance, you just focus on doing the thing you need to do right now? And if your work gets interrupted, say, by your small child, that’s okay. Go with it. Have a snuggle, eat a meal with your family, go on a walk. Then come back home, tuck your child in to bed, and get some more work done.
If you quit worrying about balancing everything, you’ll be able to accomplish more.
The ones who get things done are the ones who don’t judge themselves. They just work until it’s done and let the world judge the work.
What kind of person are you? A person who pursues balance or a person who pursues the passion?
What random, culture-created measurement of a balanced life can you throw out the window?
What’s your passion? Remember it? Buried under your schedule? Pull it back out again.
