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Why A "Balanced" Life Doesn't Exist

Thoughts From Crunch Fitness CEO Jim Rowley

By Cody Dakota Wooten, C.B.C.Published 25 days ago 5 min read
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I was reading an interview earlier today that got me thinking about the Idea of a Work-Life Balance.

As the title of the article states, Jim Rowley (CEO of Crunch Fitness), says a Work-Life Balance is, "for somebody who's not fully committed."

Now, I was fully expecting to read an interview that Reeked of "Hustle Culture", which is a movement I do NOT agree with.

Of course, you must work hard to Succeed, but "Hustle Culture" promotes Extreme Burnout, which is NOT a Healthy way to live.

It's a Toxic Belief System that targets lower-income employees and destroys people over time, honestly not any better than the Toxic Workplace that many of those individuals are trying to escape...

Perhaps it's worse actually because "Hustle Culture" makes everything "Your" Fault at the end - If you Fail, it's because "You" didn't "Hustle" enough, and didn't push yourself into enough "Burnout" to "Succeed".

No accounting for "How" you do your work, or how your Psychophysiology plays into your Success.

At least when you're just an Employee, you can blame the Toxicity on your Boss...

Anyway, back to the article!

What I ended up discovering through reading this Interview was actually something that I agree with.

See, when most people talk about a "Work-Life Balance", they are Acknowledging that they spend too much time doing work they do not want to do, and they would rather Focus on something they care about.

They also find themselves in a bit of a Conundrum.

If they just "Quit", they may not be able to take Care of what Matters to them, but if things stay the same then they "also" won't be able to take Care of what Matters to them.

Both Extremes are a Lose-Lose Situation, so they try to find a "Balance".

They don't want to Quit, they just want "enough" time to Focus on what Matters to them.

But this is the spot Jim Rowley is referring to when he says Work-Life Balance is, "for somebody who's not fully committed".

He's right - in this situation, that person "isn't" Committed to the Work, which is Why they want "Balance".

The "Work-Life Balance" is a call for Compromise, and that also "Isn't" Commitment.

On top of this, "Balance" doesn't really exist anyhow.

A good friend of mine taught me this from the perspective of Gymnastics.

A Gymnast is never "In Balance", they are constantly making small micro-adjustments in fractions of seconds.

To those from the outside perspective, the Gymnast may "appear" in "Balance", but the Gymnast knows that they are in a constant state of "Balancing", sometimes Imperceptible to the naked eye.

They know that they may overcommit here and there, and then must Counter-Balance in order not to crash down.

The entire time, they are in a State of Action.

That is where Jim Rowley also makes another point - Those who are Successful are "Fully" Committed to what they do.

It's a statement of Action.

The Gymnast is Fully Committed to maintaining their Poise and not Crashing.

The Professional Athlete is Fully Committed to maintaining their Health and Fitness.

The CEO and Entrepreneur are Fully Committed to their Business, Organization, and Teams Succeeding.

The Spouse is Fully Committed to their Relationship Succeeding.

The Devout is Fully Committed to their Faith.

All of these require Full Commitment.

Another aspect of this that most Fail to Understand, especially those in Hustle Culture, is that Success also requires Full Commitment to Recovery!

I recently wrote about how you can't stay in Flow States (our Psychophysiological Peak Condition) Forever, because Recovery is a "Necessary" part of the Flow Cycle.

Flow States require Full Commitment to Recovery.

Now, you may be wondering, "How can I be 'Fully Committed' to so many things?"

That question means you're on the right track!

See, just as a Gymnast is "Balancing" and if they veer too much in one direction they must "Counter-Balance", so too, this is how Success works.

When you Fully Commit, there will be times when you "must" veer a bit too much in a certain direction for Success.

The key becomes that you must "Counter-Balance" with the other Important Aspects of your Life.

You will also find that, in this, you Can't "Fully Commit" to too many things.

To Succeed, you must Focus more Deeply on only a "Few" Things so you can Fully Commit your Energy toward it.

Some things are "Requirements" to Fully Commit to for Success, like our Recovery.

Other things we can choose, like which Relationships we want to Fully Commit to, and what Work we want to Fully Commit to.

However, Full Commitment is Required.

If you are not Fully Committed, the Truth is you won't reach Flow States, and your Success will always be Limited.

Deep Success does require Deep Flow, which comes from Full Commitment to the Right Things.

On that, I can Confidently agree with Jim Rowley!

Truly, it is Refreshing to read a Leader's Opinion that I Agree with!

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Want to Change The World?

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About the Creator

Cody Dakota Wooten, C.B.C.

Creator of the Multi-Award-Winning Category "Legendary Leadership" | Faith, Family, Freedom, Future | The Legendary Leadership Coach, Digital Writer (500+ Articles), & Speaker

https://www.TheLeadership.Guide

[email protected]

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Comments (2)

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  • Dharrsheena Raja Segarran24 days ago

    I really loved how you explained this using the gymnast. It's not a matter of achieving that balance but constantly maintaining it.

  • Lana V Lynx25 days ago

    Another excellent motivational piece, Cody. You need to start putting all of this together into a book.

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