The problem with the phrase work-life balance
is that it connotes tradeoff, right.
So in the world of work/life balance it’s
zero sum.
Your work and the rest of your life.
So you could be doing really great in your
work – you’re getting more money, more
power, more responsibility, more challenge
and what’s wrong with this picture?
What’s wrong with this picture is what’s
happening here?
The rest of your life is not doing too well.
So the idea with balance is that when you
think in terms of an equilibrium you’re
always thinking about how you can trade one
for the other.
And I prefer to think instead about the idea
of harmony or integration and the pursuit
of what I call Four-Way Wins.
So that means for you to think about where
is it possible?
Where do I have a degree of control to be
able to make things a little bit better for
me personally – my mind, body and spirit.
Also for my family, however you define that.
For your community and for your work and your
career.
So it’s about looking for opportunities
to make things better at work, at home, in
the community and for yourself – a Four-Way
win rather than assuming that you’ve got
to trade one for the other.
And I find that when you take that point of
view – when you put on a set of lenses that,
you know, allows you to look for where is
there a possibility in my world to make a
positive impact in all the different parts
of my life.
Well then you’re much more likely to find
them, aren’t you, then if you would just
assume that they don’t exist.
So what we found from research in the field
with real people in all different kinds of
organizations and at every different stage
of life is that what it takes to lead the
life you want, to pursue these Four-Way Wins
there are three principles that are critical.
The first is to be real which is to act with
authenticity by clarifying what matters most
to you, your vision and values.
To be whole which means to act with integrity
as one, right.
The Latin root of the word integrity is one.
So respecting the whole, the different parts
of your life - your work as well as your community,
your family and your personal life.
And then to be innovative, to act with creativity
by continually experimenting with how you
get things done.
Constantly learning through trial and error.
Challenging the status quo and looking for
better ways to get things done that work for
you and for the world around you.
So those three principles are critical – to
be real, to be whole and to be innovative.
Most of us are striving to create a greater
sense of harmony.
And it is indeed in the pursuit of doing something
meaningful with the gifts, the talents, the
passions that you’ve got and converting
whatever it is that you’ve been born with
and continually learning how to bring it to
the world in a more productive and fruitful
way.
That is what I discovered in my most recent
book, the key to leading the life you want.
It’s kind of a paradox.
By taking what you have and finding ways of
making it useful in the service of other people,
that’s how we end up leading the lives that
we want.
