Beyond Work-Life Balance and Working Mindfully

A bit of extra reflection today!

How balanced are you living your life right now with all of your responsibilities? Does work and your career take most of your energy? Do your family, friends, and loved ones get the leftovers? 

Perhaps balance isn’t even the right word (we’ll talk about that more below), and it might be holding you back. 

Additionally, we invite you to learn simple mindfulness techniques utilized at Google that help people be great employees AND create peace and happiness in their personal lives. 

Sound crazy?

Well, we invite you to explore, try it out, and see what happens for you!

In today’s newsletter:

• Moving from balance to alignment

• Finding peace and fulfillment through mindfulness

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Something Better Than Work-Life Balance

"The secret to happiness is not in achieving a perfect work-life balance but in creating a harmonious Life-Work Alignment." —Deepak Chopra

Is work-life balance truly the ideal we should be relentlessly pursuing, or is there a more fitting target for our aspirations? 

Let's explore the concept of work-life balance and its implications while offering an alternative perspective that prioritizes something more powerful: Life-Work Alignment.

The Traditional Notion of Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is a concept that many of us accept and strive for. In our daily lives, we are inundated with responsibilities stemming from our careers, families, social circles, hobbies, and personal pursuits. The quest for balance, where these facets of life are harmoniously divided, is admirable, yet often elusive. It seems that for many, work tends to dominate, unintentionally becoming the top priority, while life's other dimensions fill in the gaps left behind. However, could it be that the way we approach this balance is somewhat skewed?

Shifting the Focus: Life-Work Balance

To recalibrate our perspective, we can begin by simply reversing the order of the words to "Life-Work Balance." Placing life at the forefront of our priorities signifies a profound shift in thinking. In this paradigm, work's role is to serve the purpose of enabling a fulfilling life, ensuring that it aligns with our deepest desires and aspirations. This shift encourages us to reevaluate and reorder our priorities, making life's fulfillment the ultimate aim.

One Step Further: Life-Work Alignment

But why stop at merely changing the order of words? Let's go further and introduce a more dynamic concept: "Life-Work Alignment." Alignment signifies that life and work are not opposing forces seeking balance but rather vectors that can be synchronized to move in the same direction. Work supports life, and life supports work. 

Consider vectors in mathematics: When aligned, their magnitudes combine, resulting in a more substantial and purposeful vector. Similarly, Life-Work Alignment involves aligning the vectors of life and work, making them reinforce each other positively.

The Positive Impact of Alignment

This shift from balance to alignment offers a fresh perspective on how work and life interact. Instead of perceiving work as a burden, it becomes an enabler—supporting the pursuit of a fulfilling life. Life, in turn, becomes a cause for celebration, no longer viewed as an obstacle to the demands of the workplace. This shift is transformative, turning work into an ally rather than an adversary, and life into a source of motivation rather than a constraint.

Reflecting on Your Priorities

Now, it's time to reflect on your priorities. Are you inclined toward the traditional work-life balance, where work takes precedence, leaving life to fill in the gaps? Or do you embrace the idea of Life-Work Alignment, where life's fulfillment is the compass guiding your career choices? This reflection underscores the importance of intentionality in shaping your life and career.

The pursuit of work-life balance is a noble endeavor, but perhaps it's time to evolve our perspective. Shifting our focus from balance to Life-Work Alignment places life at the forefront of our priorities, making work a means to a fulfilling life. As you navigate your journey, consider the transformative potential of this alignment, where work becomes an enabler and life a source of celebration. In this intentional approach, you'll find a more holistic version of success.

📚 BOOK RECOMMENDATION

Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace) by Chade-Meng Tan

I have loved diving into the benefits and practice of mindfulness, and this book offers insights into how it was implemented in one of the world's largest and most successful companies.

Chade-Meng Tan, one of Google’s earliest engineers and a personal growth pioneer, offers a proven method for enhancing mindfulness and emotional intelligence in life and work.

Meng’s job is to teach Google’s best and brightest how to apply mindfulness techniques in the office and beyond; now, readers everywhere can get insider access to one of the most sought-after classes in the country, a course in health, happiness, and creativity that is improving the livelihood and productivity of those responsible for one of the most successful businesses in the world.

It can help you too!