FIG. 10 Pursuing a balanced life means never pursuing anything at the extremes.
The reason we shouldn’t pursue balance is that the magic never
happens in the middle; magic happens at the extremes. The dilemma
is that chasing the extremes presents real challenges. We naturally
understand that success lies at the outer edges, but we don’t know
how to manage our lives while we’re out there.
When we work too long, eventually our personal life suffers.
Falling prey to the belief that long hours are virtuous, we unfairly
blame work when we say, “I have no life.” Often, it’s just the
opposite. Even if our work life doesn’t interfere, our personal life
itself can be so full of “have-tos” that we again reach the same
defeated conclusion: “I have no life.” And sometimes we get hit from
both sides. Some of us face so many personal and professional
demands that everything suffers. Breakdown imminent, we once again
declare, “I have no life!”