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Despite the worldwide quest for worklife balance, very few have found an acceptable definition of the concept. Here is a proven definition that will positively affect your everyday value and balance-starting today. Let's first define what work-life balance is not.
Work-life balance does not mean an equal balance. Trying to create a set hour equivalency between various work and personal areas of your life is usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and should be more fluid than that.
Your best individual work-life balance will vary over time, often on a daily basis. The right balance for you today will probably be different for you tomorrow. The right balance for you when you are single will be different when you marry, or if you have children, or when you start a new career versus when you are nearing retirement.
There is no perfect, one-size-fits-all balance you should be striving for. The best work-life balance is different for each of us because all of us have different personalities and lives.
However, at the core of an effective work-life balance definition are two key everyday concepts that are relevant to each of us. They are daily Achievement and Enjoyment, ideas almost deceptive in their simplicity. Imparting a fuller meaning of these two concepts takes us most of the way to defining a positive work-life balance. Achievement and Enjoyment answer the big question "Why?" Why do you want a better income...a new house...the kids through college...to do a good job today.. .to come to work at all?
Most of us already have a good grasp on the meaning of Achievement. But let's explore a little deeper the concept of Enjoyment. As part of a relevant work-life balance definition, enjoyment does not just mean "Ha-Ha" happiness. It means pride, satisfaction, happiness, celebration, love, a sense of well-being ...all the joys of living.
Achievement and Enjoyment are the front and back of the "coin of value" in life. You can't have one without the other, no more than you can have a coin with only one side. Trying to live a one-sided life is why so many "successful" people are not happy, or not nearly as happy as they should be.
Focusing on Achievement and Enjoyment every day helps you avoid...