Sheridan & Grace was created in hopes of fostering a community of confident, courageous, and holistically balanced business women & provide them with the resources to succeed within their work environments. The entire foundation of S&G is built upon balance, which lead me to give a lot of though to the age old question, “Does work-life balance exist?”

Let’s make it simple, it doesn’t.  And here’s why…

There Are Seven Key Elements That Create A Balanced Life:

1. 1. Professional
   2. Spiritual
   3. Intellectual
   4. Psychological
   5. Social
   6. Recreational
   7. Physical

Looking at this list, a work-life scale would be very unbalanced with our professional work on one side and the other 6 key elements weighing heavy on the other.  If I was a fancy lawyer I would yell, “Case dismissed!” But I am not, so it took me a few days of research and contemplation to really figure-out what my thoughts were on ‘work-life balance ‘ and if we can even achieve balance in our lives.  In full transparency, I really struggled to write this post as I contemplated the dynamics of balance.

 

History lesson 101

Work-life balance was a term created in the late 70’s early 80’s by some fancy person. A time when women were starting to believe they had to juggle their work, home, kids, personal admin, etc. with a smile.  Recently, however, a wonderful movement has begun where companies are realizing the measurement used for centuries to judge work-life balance was a poor tool of measurement. Why? Our lives are made of much more than that of just work and life.  Oh, and they are NOT composed of equally segmented parts anyway.

 

Work Bleeds Into All Areas Of Our Lives

We are whole, not segmented pieces. Our lives are not meant to be separated into carefully curated boxes. Neat little squares all categorized and judged individually for perfection. We are whole, every part of our lives has equal importance and is connected – like the reverse side of a beautiful tapestry. As we grow in work, it has a ripple affect into our personal lives.  And if we experience tragedy in our personal lives, that too will affect our professional life.  We are not meant to live or even think as a segmented being. Work-life balance is impossible to achieve.

Our lives are a beautiful complicated intertwined holistic journey, that must not be separated, weighed or measured. 

Have you ever worked so hard you ended up sick?  Worried so much you threw-up? Stopped eating healthy and saw some unwanted physical changes? Been too busy for your daily mediation, you react to everything as if the sky is falling?

Our body was created to be in a state of equilibrium.  When we are physically unhealthy, our bodies are trying to tell us something.  Maybe we need rest, to eat healthier, or numerous other things.  But it all comes down to the same factor – our bodies are out of balance.  One part of our life is affecting the other.  Jut like our work life affects our personal life and vice versa. It shows how our whole being and lives was created to be in a state of balance, or rather working toward a state of holistic balance.

I believe it’s possible to work toward a balanced mind, a balanced body, a balanced soul & thus a holistically balanced life.  Where all parts of our lives are not weighed against each other, nor compared. We allow for constant shifting and the ebbs and flows of priorities with grace. 

 

xo, peaches

 

Tags: business, balance, wellness, whole-body living, mind