What Is the Balanced Self | Priorities in Harmony
T he Balanced Self is representative of a life of priorities in harmony. This model is intended to be a set of guide rails for how we live & prioritize where we spend time, as how much time we spend, in areas of our life.
The concept of the Balanced Self goes hand-in-hand with Aristotle’s philosophy of the Golden Mean defined as: the ideal moderate position between extremes. Additionally, this aligns with Gautama Buddha’s Middle Path or Middle Way that promotes moderation between the two extremes of self-indulgence and self-renunciation.
Moderation sounds like a simple skill to conquer, but variables in our life are constantly pulling and influencing us. Essentially, dragging us out of balance. Be it a deadline at work, an unforeseen problem with a project, a supplier delay, an urgent task from your manager, a sick family member, a global pandemic, etc., many of life’s detours are to some degree out of our control but within the sphere of personal self-regulation.
However, attainment of “perfect” moderation does not imply that an individual will have an equal and exact balance of time across all “life areas” (family, friends, wellness, community, & career). Furthermore, how we choose to maintain balance can and will vary day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month, or even year-to-year. Our lives have a natural ebb and flow of prioritization. The key component to the balanced self is harmony—individual harmony across the areas of the Balanced Self Model.
It is also important to note—in the spirit and beauty of diversity—that everyone possesses different levels of priority across their life areas. We are all unique individuals with an infinite set of possible variations in how we approach balance in our lives. The key is to understand that there is no right or correct answer to how we achieve our personal, unique, Balanced Self. This could serve as a source of conflict in personal and professional relationships. Part of being a good human is practicing tolerance and understanding, while maintaining open communication to ensure expectations are aligned and harmony prevails.