I’ve been thinking a lot lately about balance. No, not how I manage to stay upright on two legs, but the balance between my professional and my personal life. I have been reflecting on how at various stages in my life, I’ve put more emphasis on one over the other. I’ve thought extensively about the price I have paid for those decisions.

All of this reckoning seems to bring up more and more questions. There are social expectations. There are familial obligations. There is the need to feel valuable to this world. It seems the more I think about what the “right” balance for me is, the deeper into the rabbit hole I dive. What was right in my twenties certainly isn’t what I believe is right today. How do I know if I have it right?

I don’t know the answer to a lot of these questions. I’ll keep asking. I am relatively certain that the answer will change from one person to the next. I’m also confident that the answer will change for me in the future. For now, I look both inward and outward to take the best reading I can, as to whether that balance is “right.” Am I still learning and growing? Do I feel content? I look inward. Do those around me seem content? Are they sending me signals of something being out of balance? I look outward.

Do you think about the work/life balance in your life? What do you use for your barometer? I want to hear from you!