Balance

Do you struggle with balance in your daily life? I'm not talking about balancing macros in your diet or your on-screen device time. Although, both of these areas may be part of your balancing dilemma. My challenge lately is balancing my job search with personal responsibilities. Can you relate?

I've been officially unemployed for seven weeks now. The time period spanned the holidays when most employers are enjoying time with family and away from work. Overcompensating to make up for the time loss can easily justify imbalance. Maybe. But more likely, nope. Welcome to my dilemma.

On average, I've invested seven hours in my daily job search. This includes updating and customizing my resume and cover letter countless times. Updating my LinkedIn profile. Completing online applications that repeat everything on my resume. Networking, lots of networking. Researching companies and their employees. Reading through public and private company reviews. And investigating company financial information where possible. Interviewing via phone, Google Hangouts, HireView, in person and chatbots (weird). Creating PowerPoint presentations. Then publicly presenting said presentations. And of course, filtering through the hundreds of emails with repetitive job alerts from numerous aggregators.I ask daily, have I done everything possible to find my next job? The answer quite simply, yes.

My struggle is answering the other side of the equation honestly. Have I done everything possible to also balance my personal responsibilities? Physical and mental health. Family. Pets. Friends, Finances, Home.

The answer is quite simply, no. But I can justify my imbalance because I'm self-aware and working to improve. And I have priorities. Adulting is at the top of the list. As Yoda cautioned Luke when he was trying to learn to use the Jedi Force, "Do or do not. There is no try." Insert my dilemma - who cares about balance when I have bills to pay, mouths to feed and retirement to save for? Oh wait. I care. I should care. We all should care.

But how do I align my behavior to find balance in my life? Here’s where I start. I am a lifelong learner. I believe we can and should learn from infinite resources. But the people in our circle of influence are the most critical in personal and professional growth. Two of these people are my daughters. I am learning balance from them. They fall into the millennial demographic at 21 and 24 respectively. This generation sometimes gets a bad rap. But what they actually are is an example of a more balanced future. Take note.

Millennials are often categorized and labeled with inaccurate biases. Truth is, they work hard. They play hard. They do yoga. They are responsible. They openly discuss mental health issues without shame. They care deeply about our environment, eating vegan and being vulnerable with their feelings. They choose to parent pets for now, and maybe children in the future. They prefer tiny homes to free up time and resources. They practice actual balance in their lives. Lesson observed. Note taken.

The fact is, we are all more effective when life is balanced. Profound, I know. I’ve preached this advice to many, but I’ve pretty much failed at living this principle myself. I will do, I will not try. I will actually implement this type of balance into my life. Starting tomorrow. Or maybe Monday. Just kidding. All teasing aside, I’m thankful for the lessons learned from my tribe and for the lessons to come. My goal is to live by example of balance in all things.