Inspiration through the experiences of others: Work-life balance

I often find inspiration through the experiences of others. I like knowing that someone else has gone through a similar experience as me. I also enjoy learning how others have overcome challenges in both their personal and professional lives. Learning through others reminds me that I am human and that it is okay to make mistakes and that we are all deserving of success in its multiple forms.

The best way by far that I have found to connect with the experiences of others is to read what they have written, I mean books. Articles are good too but I find that you really get to know a person through a book. As you journey with that person page by page you can fully appreciate their experience, stop, reflect and apply lessons learned to your own life.

Two books in particular have really spoken to me on a professional and personal level lately:

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi

Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder by Adrianna Huffington

There is one thing that both of these books mention that I find very interesting: Both authors believe that creating work-life balance is an arbitrary construct and that we need to find ways to, not separate work from our personal lives, but learn how to mix the two in just the right way to create an internal balance which is healthy and which works for each individual (my words not theirs).

I used to strive to achieve work life balance like it was actually possible – like I could separate my work completely from my personal life. I would put up artificial barriers thinking that this was the ‘smart’ thing to do. I have two phones (work and personal), I try to stop work at 5 PM on the dot, I try not to enter my home office during the evenings, I don’t talk about work with my friends, I don’t talk about my friends at work and on the list goes. In a world where we are increasingly interconnected, the idea of breaking down barriers and intermixing work and our personal lives to create a unique individual balance is worth pondering. It may even be ‘smart’.

I often find inspiration through the experiences of others. I like knowing that someone else has gone through a similar experience as me. I also enjoy learning how others have overcome challenges in both their personal and professional lives. Learning through others reminds me that I am human and that it is okay to make mistakes and that we are all deserving of success in its multiple forms.

The best way by far that I have found to connect with the experiences of others is to read what they have written, I mean books. Articles are good too but I find that you really get to know a person through a book. As you journey with that person page by page you can fully appreciate their experience, stop, reflect and apply lessons learned to your own life.

Two books in particular have really spoken to me on a professional and personal level lately:

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi

Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder by Adrianna Huffington

There is one thing that both of these books mention that I find very interesting: Both authors believe that creating work-life balance is an arbitrary construct and that we need to find ways to, not separate work from our personal lives, but learn how to mix the two in just the right way to create an internal balance which is healthy and which works for each individual (my words not theirs).

I used to strive to achieve work-life balance like it was actually possible – like I could separate my work completely from my personal life. I would put up artificial barriers thinking that it was the ‘smart’ thing to do. I have two phones (work and personal), I try to stop work at 5 PM on the dot, I try not to enter my home office during the evenings, I don’t talk about work with my friends, I don’t talk about my friends at work and on the list goes. In a world where we are increasingly interconnected, the idea of breaking down barriers and intermixing work and our personal lives to create a unique individual balance is worth pondering. It may even be ‘smart’.

From Ferrazzi I learned that my connections are the key to success in many areas of my life and that it doesn’t make sense to separate my personal and professional contacts. What’s wrong with talking about an exciting career opportunity with a friend? Moreover, why not contact that friend right away to let them know that I think they would be a great fit for that opportunity and then put them in touch with the hiring manager? And by ‘friend’ I mean boss, client, physiotherapist, mail delivery person and anyone else I interact with on a regular basis. Why can’t all of these people be my ‘friends’?

From Huffington, I learned that my after work yoga and meditation sessions have a place during my work. I don’t have to be finished work to meditate. I also don’t have to finish my work to take a much needed nap. Taking a nap when I am tired, brain dead or just plain spent helps reinvigorate me, restore me, and helps me think clearly again. Meditation can do the same thing, especially when dealing with stress. While I realize that it is not always possible to take a nap and to stop and meditate during the work day, I have learned that there is nothing wrong with taking a break and giving myself a mental rest. Even if that break is at two in the afternoon.

A new way of looking at work-life balance is certainly not the only thing that I learned from Ferrazzi and Huffington, but it is the one that has resonated with me and, as a result, has helped me make small changes in my daily life.

I hope that as a professional, and as a human being, you strive to learn from and connect with others in meaningful ways by reading what they have written. Also never doubt that someone else can learn from your unique experience.

Andrea