Having the proper kind of energy is essential to realigning your work/life balance. I’m not just talking about “energy” in the sense we usually mean: “get up and go,” or “fire in the belly,” but more about a positive attitude from which energy is generated, an “anything is possible” (or more modestly “anything might be possible) attitude.
Clients often come to me with feelings of being ground down, of pessimism, fear, anger, resentment, victimhood…. They all suck energy out of one’s sense of agency, of self-confidence, and make the possibility of change seem out of reach, or so difficult to attain that it’s not even worth contemplating.
Recognize that change IS possible. Begin to implement some of the suggestions I made in Part I
A somewhat different approach to the path forward consists of a shift in perspective. Rather than looking at the glass as half (or more likely 95%) empty, consider what benefits are offered (or potentially offered) by the challenging situation you’re in. An opportunity to improve your efficiency, for example? An opportunity to mellow out on perfectionism? An opportunity to develop systems and processes to help you perform at your best? An opportunity to finally tackle procrastination? An opportunity to place hiring an assistant or enlisting an intern at the top of your priority list?
Also, it can be helpful to recognize that the imbalance need not persist as far into the future as you can see; the situation should be viewed as a temporary one, and that with the proper amount of effort you will be able to effect change for the better.
Your energy (in the sense I’m talking about it here) can also be greatly enhanced by doing anything that feeds your inner sense of calm and of “rightness.” This can vary from attending church/synagogue/mosque/temple services, to reading an inspirational author (Wayne Dyer? Tony Robbins? Stephen Covey? Dale Carnegie? – as long as you then deal with any guilt that may come up around your not being inb the place they’re urging you to go), attending an AA or AlAnon meeting, or connecting with nature in any one of a hundred ways.
Finally, rather than aiming exclusively for readjusting your work/life balance, begin thinking of and then working towards the possibility of creating a worklife, as outlined in the outstanding career book “Roadmap” by Roadtrip Nation. Worklife is about integrating work and the interests currently in your life that lie outside of work. When that integration occurs the whole issue of balance shrinks markedly.
