Don't Do This in 2024: The Poison of Trying to Balance Your Life

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV) "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens." 

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." Albert Einstein 

Don't Do This in 2024: The poison of balance

As success-driven people, we struggle to keep our heads above water as we live in secret, self-perceived failure that creates chronic guilt. We don't take enough vacations, yet we feel like we need to work harder. It seems we're always so far behind. We need to give our spouses and our kids more time and attention. We need to exercise more. We're not serving the church and the community as we know we should. So much is left undone at work, and the deadlines are coming fast. And even though we're running as quickly as possible (maybe too fast), we still need to make it happen. We're doing our best to pursue a "balanced" life, but our wheels are wobbling. 

Ask yourself right now, Am I balanced? Am I giving balanced attention to my fitness, family, work, and spiritual activities? Is my marriage in balance? What about recreation, friends, and volunteer service? 

Let me guess what you're feeling: guilt, guilt, guilt. Am I right? 

I've posed this question to thousands of people, and no one has ever said, "Yes, my life is balanced." Most of us want to live a whole life, make a meaningful contribution and enjoy ourselves along the way. But the stress of life drives us to anxiety, sleep disorders, and depression. We feel we're wasting our lives and having no fun. We want the insanity to stop. 

We think that something must be wrong with us—and something is wrong with us. In our attempts to have it all in perfect balance, we stay up too late and get up too early. We're also sleep-deprived, not having slept well for even those few hours. 

When life is crazy, the standard prescription is to re-establish balance, the supposed antidote to our insane lives. But what if the antidote is actually a poison? Pursuing balance contributes to burnout and guilt. Don't do this in 2024.

If you feel like burnout is creeping up on you, learn more about living your life in rhythm rather than balance. Click here.