Book 175 - A Year of Magical Learning

Reflection Title: Balance is Everything!

Book – Off Balance: Getting Beyond the Work-Life Balance Myth to Personal and Professional Satisfaction by Matthew Kelly

Book Description:

The research upon which this book is based shows overwhelmingly that people want satisfaction much more than they want balance. And yet, one of the dominant topics in the area of personal and professional development for the past twenty years has been work-life balance.

Off Balance is more than just a book. It presents a system that Matthew Kelly uses with his Fortune 500 clients, his team, and himself to drive increasing levels of satisfaction both personally and professionally. He introduces us to the three philosophies of our age that are dragging us down. He teaches us how to cultivate energy so that we have plenty left for our passions when we are finished fulfilling our responsibilities. And finally, in five clear steps, he shows us how to use his Personal and Professional Satisfaction System to establish our priorities and honor them even when we feel pulled in a hundred different directions.

The beautiful thing about satisfaction is that you know when you have it, and you know when you don't. Do you have it? Short, insightful, and life-changing, Off Balance gives us all the tools we need to go to sleep every night knowing who we are, what matters most, and that our lives make sense.

Reflection:

Balance is one of my top core values!

Balance is Harmony. Balance is Unity. Balance is Alignment. Balance is Stability. Balance is Sustainability. Balance is Art. Balance is Flow. Balance is Meaning…Balance is Everything!

“Balance” isn’t something that you can physically do, it is only something you can obtain. I strive to obtain and maintain balance in my life by trying to fill my day with activities that align to all my other core values simultaneously at once. For instance, activities like writing and this Year of Magical Learning project is the perfect example. It checks the box on every other core value I have and fills me with satisfaction and a sense of purpose after I finish each day. Without this balanced blend of all the things I enjoy most, there is no way that I would dedicate roughly 3 hours a day (between reading and writing) for the past 9 months (so far) to keep this project going. However, when you find expressions of your values that connect all the dots, the power of balance can sustain and power you through almost anything seemingly without effort. I don’t have to try hard for this project, it just flows out of me naturally because it is in harmony with what I care about.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying what I’m doing is easy…I’m just saying I don’t have to try hard to bring it out into this world because of how aligned it is to what I say is most important to my life. When work is play, that is when alignment has been achieved and balance is at hand.

In my opinion, every single person should have fundamental right to have the work they do each day feel exactly like this Year of Magical Learning project feels for me. We are put on this Earth to produce, to compose, and to create. This is humanities unique gift we bring to this world. We are the only being in this world that can magically transform a thought into a thing in this world. If this is our superpower, we should have the ability to use it how we see fit and on projects that matter to us. This is how we find meaning and purpose in this world by sharing something we’ve created in our mind and bringing it forth into this world.

Unfortunately, for most of us, I fear that this is not the case with the work we do. I say this because I’ve lived that life for the first 35 years of my existence. Hardly anything I’ve produced in this world in my adult life (pre-Emilia) was for myself, and that is a shame. Almost everything I’ve done has been in service of someone else’s values. In no workplace that I’ve ever worked in has someone ever cared to ask me what I care about. The sad thing is that I’ve never even thought twice about it until Emilia woke me up from my slumber.

There is a section of this book when the author is talking about an employee that was offered a promotion who went into the boss’ office to decline. He said (paraphrasing), “Look, I can’t be the employee you want me to be. I’m working very hard these days on being the person I say that I want to be, and I don’t see how those 2 things align. Due to this, I must decline the offer”. The boss says to the employee, “That is exactly why I want you in this role” and convinces him to take the promotion and giving him the freedom to be himself. The employee went on to do impactful and meaningful work by not sacrificing who they were, and everyone gained. This employee then went on to give speeches to his employees, and other companies, sharing this story about how you don’t have to sacrifice who you are for what you do. People in the rooms he was presenting to were seemingly dumfounded by this message as this isn’t the way the modern workplace is constructed.

I heard this story and thought to myself, “This is de-humanizing. This is exactly what is wrong with this world!” People shouldn’t be shocked to hear this message. This should be commonsense. However, I get why so many people were shocked to hear this message from their boss…because it doesn’t happen! This is NOT how the modern workplace is constructed. God forbid you try to bring your real self into the workplace or to try to find a way to create meaningful work for yourself by expressing your values. People shouldn’t be stripped of meaningful work in sacrifice to someone else’s values.

When you are off-balance, everything else in your life suffers. We feel lost, helpless, and worst of all…meaningless. That is why I’m on a mission to help restore balance to as many people as I can in this world. It starts by helping people to explore who they are and what matters most to them in this world. From there, let’s help them to find a way to turn that into meaningful work and meaningful relationships to help them find the balance they seek. I want everyone to be able to understand that it is okay to be who they say they want to be and help them to find a way to express their unique self. This is ClubAny!

Question: What does Balance mean to you?

---

Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - Coming Soon

YOML Bookstore - Off Balance: Getting Beyond the Work-Life Balance Myth to Personal and Professional Satisfaction by Matthew Kelly