I’m Inspired by…

Women of Influence President & CEO Carolyn Lawrence shares her insights, experience and inspiration for success.

I’m inspired by: feeling balanced, and knowing the facts.

Trigger: On the mat after a 30-minute online (YogaGlo.com) yoga class at home.

The question: Am I balanced? After yoga I felt great; balanced, in fact, which got me thinking, about the power of actually feeling balanced; whether or not you actually are. I had previously imagined that “having balance”, the oft aspired holy grail for women and men in business, was somehow always a fool’s errand as it somehow implied that your work and life are in fact in 50/50 balance.

The facts: I remembered the advice of sports psychologist guru and lifelong friend, Dr. Haley, (fitandfirmsecrets.com), and did the numbers. Well let’s see then. Is it just a feeling of off-balance, or actual fact?

I calculated all my active waking hours:
Work 42 : Life 44

Aha!: What?! The numbers are actually balanced. Now that I see it in front of me, I can’t believe it. I had thought that my allocation of time looked different. Although indicative that I’m still 10 months into being a mom, I can also see where I would like to be (more work)! What I can confidently say now is that I don’t need the numbers to balance; that’s not what I’m trying to achieve.

Advice from Women of Influence: The wisdom and lessons from the successful role models we profile say that the concept of balance doesn’t exist; one must instead have priorities. And you may be able to achieve them all, but perhaps not all in the same day, week, month, year, or even decade.

Insight: I’m not aiming for balance; I’m aiming for success, love, joy and health. There’s no recipe for that kind of balance. But if I feel it; I am.

Over to you: Look at the facts. Ask yourself if you feel good: in balance. If not, define your priorities. Your balancing act may not look 50/50, but if you’re not falling, and you feel great, that sounds amazing to me.

Read More:
Article: Bring it On Home, Dr. Marla Shapiro

Book: Susan Welch 10-10-10

Video: Christine Day, CEO of lululemon