A successful business colleague told me recently how he has now adopted a life work balance approach to life, as distinct from work life balance. Instead of a work first approach he now uses a life first approach with his work being just one - albeit still important - facet of life. He is now enjoying a healthy mix of prioritizing his work energies with opportunities he and his wife set aside to enjoy quality outings together.
This exchange gave me a new perspective on the meaning of the word balance - a word I never liked because we can never really balance our work time and personal time. What's different here is my colleague now has a more balanced perspective on the relative values of his work and his personal life in sustaining his health and wellbeing.
Life today is more about the perspectives we have on it than about the time we spend in it.
