Is Work-Life Balance Even Possible?

There are different views on this question, but it really depends on how you view life, and your work. The main definition we need to look at before digging into what work-life balance looks like is the definition of balance, which states, “an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.” Now, ask yourself the question, “Do I put the same amount of time into work as I put into living life?”

Alain de Botton said, “There is no such thing as work-life balance. Everything worth fighting for unbalances your life.” Jack Welch also said, “There’s no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences.” And Sheryl Sandberg said, “So there’s no such thing as work-life balance. There’s work, and there’s life, and there’s no balance.”

Heather Schuck, has a different view on the subject. She said, “You will never feel truly satisfied by work until you are satisfied by life.” But I most agree with the stance that, Michael Thomas Sunnarborg, has on the matter. He said, “A true balance between work and life comes with knowing that your life activities are integrated, not separated.”

A true balance between work & life comes with knowing that your life activities are integrated. Click To Tweet

I can see both sides here, and I love work more than most people, but I think we must be careful in the approach we take with our work. The way I view my life is that I must first live it to the full for my work to be the best that it can be. Work then is a byproduct of the life we live — we must not separate the two. Like Sunnarborg said, everything in life is integrated.

I have said before that work-life balance is achievable, but the only reason that it can be is that both are one in the same. Life is beautiful in its entirety, including work, but work is to be woven through the fabric of our lives.