Many people see balance as everything being equal, where to ensure that A and B are balanced, A must equal B. However, besides being an oversimplification of life (who really only has two things in their lives?), this also assumes that A and B are equal in their weight, value, etc. This is fundamentally incorrect, as we look at many things in our lives.

Everything has a different value, and those values are by no means absolute. They can change for each person, and not only for that, but they can change for the same person over time as well based on a number of factors. Sometimes just taking ten minutes to take a break and refocus is enough, sometimes the balance is an hour, or even a week away. But just because A and B are not equal, doesn’t mean that they can’t be in equilibrium.

This is my concept of balance.

There are a number of ways to illustrate this, both metaphorically and literally. Look to chemistry. Equivalent volumes of various things don’t necessarily weight the same amount (ie. a litre of oxygen versus a litre of lead). Likewise, ten hours of work might not require ten hours of fun to unwind.

If we look at this in day to day life, this idea can be further supported by looking at a few examples. Sometimes, if you’re having a terrible day, one little thing can cheer you up. For example, this morning ended up being quite a mess for me. As the weather was supposed to be quite unappealing (freezing rain and snow), I figured rather than leaving my car at the Park-and-Ride like I usually do, I would leave it in the garage at home and have my fiance drop me off at the bus stop. So, I get to the bus stop, and as she drives away, I reach for my bus pass. Alas, I came up empty. So here I am, at the bus stop, no car, no bus pass and no change for fare. Thus I ended up having to take a taxi home and drive into work, which I hadn’t wanted to do in the first place, but at this point, I didn’t have the time to take the bus.

But rather than letting this inauspicious start bring ruin to my mood for the rest of the day, I decided that I’d do something to improve my outlook. Or several small things. I stopped and got a latte on the way in, I listened to some good music, loudly, and I took a few deep breaths. These small things started the ball rolling in the other direction, and my day improved dramatically.

I’m sure you have examples of the same type of thing, where something seemingly small changed things around and brought life back into balance. Maybe it was an email or a phone call from someone in particular that started the change, or just reading a few pages of a favourite book (or any book). The smallest things can have a huge impact.

Of course, like all things, there are two sides to this. Much like something small can brighten a dark day, small things can similarly darken a bright day. The key to both of these is being aware. Today I was having a bad day, and I made a few small changes to brighten it up. If you’re having a great day, just be aware of things going on, and do your best to not let the small things ruin it.

If there’s anything you’d like to add, please do so below, and I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Cheers,

Adam