Finding Harmony in Work and Life

In a world obsessed with hustle and grind, is it possible to pursue excellence and peak performance while maintaining some semblance of peace and ease in our lives? In this episode of Elevate, we’ll break down the philosophy and state of being called harmony along with specific ways we can activate it in our lives.

In last weeks episode we discussed one of the key strategies that top performers have enacted to elevate their performance and standout amongst their peers: the power of grit. As we defined it, quoting Angela Duckworth, "grit is the quality than enables an individual to work hard and stick to their long-term passion and goals."

This week, we look at what we’ve discovered to be an equally powerful yet fundamentally different philosophy of the most centered, grounded and peaceful high performers pursuing the very best version of themselves. Pursuing their purpose with peace and ease by showing up from a position of harmony.

Sounds nice, right? Moving towards your life’s vision with peace and ease. But is it really possible or is this that California woo woo talk of monks and yogis? Is it possible to pursue excellence while maintaining some semblance of balance in our life? Must we be the mad scientist and the workaholic in order to create high-impact, meaningful work?

In a world obsessed with the hustle and grind, it can absolutely feel that way. Mix in mobile technology, and we can feel perpetually connected, hopelessly distracted, and continuously working. Balance gets sacrificed, all in the name of pursuing excellence. How did we get caught in this trap?

Two Reasons:

1. For many of us, we’ve never stopped to get clear on whatwe want and where we want to go. And as a result, we’ve gotten caught up in pursuit of a life that we don’t even want.

2. We have unrealistic expectations of balance. It’s actually not about balance. What we really want is harmony. My favorite definition of harmony is this: “A pleasing arrangement of parts.” Whatever balance - or better said, harmony - means to you, it’s possible to obtain while pursuing everything you want to create as a leader and an influencer in this world.

Three tips to bring harmony into your life while pursuing excellence:

Get Clear On What You Want. There’s no right or wrong answer here. The key is that you’re intentional. Creating the right amount of harmony to care for your body, to nurture your relationships, to grow your spiritual connection, in whatever form and shape that takes for you. Commit to building a protective boundary around yourself, your life, and your priorities.

Train For Sprints, Not Marathons. To pursue excellence, to lead a global organization, to build a brand requires us at times to sprint. To believe anything less is naive. But power lies in being mindful enough to know when to sprint and when to rest. High-impact individuals are hyper-sensitive to their own energy reserves and the commitments they’ve made. They know they’re only as good to their teams and organizations as their ability to harness their energy, enthusiasm, and vitality at any one time.

Commit To The Journey, Not The Destination. Balance is not the final goal but an ongoing process. Being in balance doesn’t mean that we’re calm and relaxed and content at all times. Balance often occurs in fleeting moments; it comes and goes. Rather than trying to stay balanced, think of yourself as practicing harmony while we pursue excellence.