Tweet

Life/work balance is nonsense

Guest post by: Ian Berry

Article Overview: I hear a lot of talk about life/work balance and I think most of it is nonsense. The word balance for me implies equal. I prefer the word harmony, therefore life/work harmony. My personal and business life are not equal or in balance and are never likely to be. They are in harmony with one another, that is, they work together like a symphony, two sides of the same coin.

Life/work balance is nonsense

© Ian Berry. All rights reserved.

Normal

I hear a lot of talk about life/work balance and I think most of it is nonsense.

The word balance for me implies equal. I prefer the word harmony, therefore life/work harmony.

My personal and business life are not equal or in balance and are never likely to be.

They are in harmony with one another, that is, they work together like a symphony, two sides of the same coin.

Changing what’s normal

Here are my 11 laws of life/work harmony. I trust they will help you live a more harmonious life.

1. The Law of Harmony

Opposites attract. There are always at least two sides to every story.

Possible Actions: Always think both/and, rather than either/or; accept the good with the bad; appreciate pleasure, gain from pain; focus on the positive, learn from the negative; and you will soon begin to find harmony in your life.

2. The Law of Possibility

The opportunities life offers us are endless. There are no limits, except those we place on ourselves. There is nothing we cannot achieve.

Possible Action: When you find yourself in any situation that seems hopeless, rather than focusing on what is, focus on what’s possible.

3. The Law of Personal Responsibility

No one else can make us feel or think glad, sad, bad or mad. How we feel and think are choices we make.

Possible Actions: We must own our feelings and thoughts and not get tangled in other people’s feelings and thoughts. We must let go of attachment to what other people feel and think. Soon we eliminate guilt and worry; two of life’s most useless and most debilitating emotions.

4. The Law of Attraction

Success is not something we attain, rather something we attract.

Possible Actions: Commit to life-long learning; focus on insight more than information and wisdom more than knowledge. The more we become who we are capable of becoming the more we attract success.

5. The Law of the Farm

You find fertile ground, plough it, seed it, and nurture it, and more often than not you reap a harvest. We get what we give. What goes around comes around. These are modern ways of describing an old adage; we reap what we sow.

Possible Actions: The message of this law is that we must focus on proven processes and detach from outcomes. If we are taking the right action, results take care of themselves.

6. The Law of Relationships

We gravitate to those we like, know and trust.

Possible Actions: Establish shared values with family, friends and work colleagues, and agree on how they will be lived; have shared goals and agree on the key strategies to achieve them; practice non-judgment; give genuine attention to others. Before you know it your relationships will be stronger and the great door of opportunity will open more often.

7. The Law of Service

Giving without attachment to getting back creates one of life’s great paradoxes; we get more back.

Possible Actions: Fully understand what others need and provide it; go the extra mile by adding value to every transaction and interaction; co-create wow experiences at work, home and play. Before long others will be serving you in ways beyond your wildest expectations.

8. The Law of Confidence

Confidence is to maintain a positive inner and outer images and display them.

Possible Actions: Demonstrate openness to learning and not asserting your way is the only way while at the same time believe in yourself; believe in others; speak and communicate from your heart; and confidence will rarely get mistaken for arrogance.

9. The Law of Actual Communication

Not all talk is communication. We often talk just for the joy of it. To actually communicate is to agree on some course of action even if it is to agree to disagree.

Possible Actions: To communicate better speak with a specific goal in mind and listen simply to understand, and when speaking and listening ask for feedback to ensure message effectiveness. You will most likely find you will speak less and listen more. The result however is to eventually eliminate misunderstanding, one of the great causes negative stress.

10. The Law of Adaptability

I heard a great saying one time better to adapt than be a sitting duck and get run over.

Possible Actions: Our willingness to adapt, be flexible, and go with the flow are keys to a negative stress free life. A key seems to be to realize, it is not what happens to you, it’s what you do about it (thank you W.Mitchell30). Take responsibility for your responses to life and life will respond to you.

11. The Law of Synchronicity/Interconnectedness

Everything is connected in some way to everything else.

Possible Actions: Seek coincidence, follow your heart, do what you love.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.

Ian

Related Articles
  The Secret of Success
  Labels That Mean Nothing
  Lessins Lessons for Life Balance
  More workers seek to reinvent themselves as old jobs fade
  Leadership Success Strategy - Your Winning Leadership Formula to a Balanced Life
  The Myth of Balance
  Networking for Results that Balance Your Give and Take
  COMPENSATING BALANCE LOANS FOR BUSINESS/REAL ESTATE
  Step by Step
  Mix it up! Please!
  Feld-Weiser One-on-One: Feld on Work-Life Balance
  Less Working Hours Do Not Improve Aussie Work Life Balance
  Your Work or Your Life
  Make Time for Balance
  High resolution mistakes
  Balance Yourself With Your Life Wheel
  How to handle stress in your side business
  Promote Work-Life Balance to Retain and Motivate Employees
  Financial Report: Reading the Balance Sheet for Making an Investment Decision
  Kawasaki Jet Ski - Definite Style Encompasses This Amazing Speedster

Article Tags: business life, harmony, lifework harmony



Related Forum Posts
Re: Basic HTML splash pages... - They both look nice. Clean and simple without all the flashy nonsense we see so much. The only downside for me was the audio on the 2nd one. I personally try to steer clear of using audio. I also keep my computer muted while surfing exchanges for that very reason.
Re: Balancing Your Man & Business - This is SOOOO real. . Keeping first things first has kept the balance. First God, then everything else. When I start the day with prayer and meditation, I prioritize better. There are certain things I must do each day in business but I remember to schedule quality time with my mate AND I'm attentive too. I noticed when I don't put God first, I struggle to keep a balance and wonder how we'll add kids to the paradigm. When I do it right EVERYTHING falls into place. Besides that, we BOTH really ENJOY business. We're both self-employed. I like this thread. This has been BIG discussion with us of late. We've both gotten MUCH better. It's no small thing either.
Credit card management - Too many people - usually young people, but it can strike anyone - mismanage their credit cards and end up spending more than half their paycheck each month on credit card bills - and only paying the interest, besides! Don't let this happen to you! Don't carry a balance at all. Pay off your card every month so you don't have to pay interest on the balance. If you can't afford something in one month's payment - save up until you have enough to pay for it. Otherwise, that item you buy will usually end up costing you twice as much again in interest fees.
Re: What Is Your Forum Marketing Strategy? - Hi and thanks for your answers. I think most newbies start visiting forums for the backlinks, you can see it by the amount of spam they post. Beside the 5 forums I am active in, I am an active member of 2 more forums just fro fun and entertainment. I visit these forums once a month. I learned to love forums, you meed interesting people on forums, you learn a lot, and I love the satisfaction of helping other people. Kevin, for you answer, there are some phrases that catch your eye, questions that ask for opinion, tips, etc. I usually read all the new posts, or at least try to, if it's spam or nonsense i just go to the next post.
Re: Credit card management - [quote="OmnivoreInk":2729cpnx]Too many people - usually young people, but it can strike anyone - mismanage their credit cards and end up spending more than half their paycheck each month on credit card bills - and only paying the interest, besides! Don't let this happen to you! Don't carry a balance at all. Pay off your card every month so you don't have to pay interest on the balance. If you can't afford something in one month's payment - save up until you have enough to pay for it. Otherwise, that item you buy will usually end up costing you twice as much again in interest fees.[/quote:2729cpnx] Great advise that far too many people put into action. Especially with an economy like the US has right now, the least amount of credit card debt, the better. Shri


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Multilevel Marketing: 4 Tips To MLM Success

Self Employed Business Ideas

Intro to Search Engine Optimization

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.