What is stronger?
Stepping off the metaphorical scale
As someone who came of age with all the rhetoric around “work-life balance”, I tend to think of my life in two big buckets on opposite sides of a scale: “work” and “personal”. One issue with this is that there’s an implication that work is equal in size or importance to LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE IN MY LIFE. And it’s not.
So I am instead implementing the belief that there are many buckets of differing sizes which can be carried, and it’s up to me to decide which buckets to pick up and how big they get to be.
To decide means I must ask myself questions like:
What is stronger - my desire to spend quality time with my parents or the work ethic I inherited from them?
Can I let go of the compulsion to overcompensate rooted in unbalanced societal standards… in exchange for rest?
Am I distributing my time in a way that makes me feel happy or fulfilled?
These thoughts have been floating in my mind since January, but with a recent health scare in my family, and some tough conversations at home and at work, they’ve come into sharp focus. Not to mention, forces in the world that want me to feel powerless.
I’ve always been pretty decent at taking a hard look at myself and analysing my emotions. But after my latest acute stress episode, I’m realizing I haven’t gone far enough with my actions. Less thinking about “what’s wrong with me” and more acting on my values. I have accumulated some serious time, money, and energy privileges. Where can I spend them?
P.S. I’ve got another post in the drafts that continues this conversation from a less downer perspective, plus some throwback content (hint: 📓). That should be out in a few days. Until then, take care, stay safe, and stay cool 😎🍦