Visualize you are on a speeding train, looking out the window and observing the blending and blurring of tree branches, signs and buildings as you accelerate. Now, picture this train as a metaphor for your life. Think about what you saw. Are you appreciating the view, or is it also a blur?
It is not uncommon for people to get caught up in daily demands and become oblivious to all else.
We may get so caught up in the pace that we lose sight of the purpose of our original direction. Many people are riding fast on the wrong train. They are making good time in terms of accomplishments, but they are no longer thinking about the fundamental questions that would reassure them of the rightness of their direction. Much like the train’s speed, their lives gain momentum, but they surrender to the flow and forfeit their joy with it.
Seeing our lives holistically, including the physical, logical and emotional domains, is essential if we seek work-life harmony. These dimensions are not mutually exclusive. Gandhi noted, “One man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole.”
Therefore, if you find yourself working on weekends and late at night to catch up with work; if you are postponing physical and social activities because you are too busy; or if work is becoming a source of chronic stress or if you cannot afford to take time off, then it’s a sign that you are on an unsustainable life path.
We must heighten awareness that speed and progress are conceptually distinct and experientially intertwined. We easily confuse means with ends when absorbed by contemporary life’s rapid pace and expectations. Finding work-life balance is an elusive proposition, but it is not a good reason to surrender.
It is essential to slow down and mindfully iterate our definition of success, reaffirm our life purpose, reconnect with our values and recognize that rediscovering our sense of direction will give us the ultimate foundation to move in the direction of the life we want to live.
Modern work’s evolution and amplified pace have only necessitated the need for work-life balance among today’s professionals.
The interactions of external expectations, economic necessity and personal aspirations of success have paved the way for people to juggle the tensions of succeeding in all departments of life.
We’ve become prisoners of doing more of everything well, fueling our fire and, along the way, burning out. As a result, we experience disharmony, disengagement, exhaustion, inefficacy, frustration and disappointment, all warning signs of an imbalanced life.
Technology has enabled us to multitask, expand our sphere of influence and absorb a greater volume of things to do, like a sponge, but are we really accomplishing more? We find ourselves reaching a saturation point. This dripping manifests in missed deadlines, inability to attend family events, increased stress and much more.
Research suggests busyness hinders our capacity to discern and ignore irrelevant information. The thrill for heavy multitaskers is getting more and more of it, and the high volume of work becomes a badge of honor. Yet, slowly and gradually, this tendency becomes a silent killer, leading to physical and mental exhaustion and the feeling of being excessively burdened.
It is important to step back, zoom out of our daily routines, and ask ourselves if our engagement is sustainable over time. We often think we are in an extraordinary situation and only need to push harder to find a better flow. But in reality, the pace just keeps accelerating around us.
*This post originally appeared in StreetCar Suburbs Publishing on 9/12/24.
