by Yvonne Morris

Created on: September 26, 2008   Last Updated: October 30, 2011

Funny how life gives us our answers - when we are brave enough to listen! For years I paid "lip-service" to the idea of work-life balance and it was only after I quit my "full-time" job in search of that balance that I learned what that meant. Work-life balance is an inside job. Yes, I know that sounds like a cliche and maybe even trite, but it's true. I do not for a minute regret that I quit my job, because I did so to follow my passion. But what I am learning is that it takes the same kind of commitment, or even more, to work for yourself. It takes even more of a balancing act to hold your financial success or lack thereof, in your own hands, and this can potentially cause more stress at home and in other areas of your life. What I have figured out is that finding work-life balance rests squarely on my shoulders - or to be more accurate, it lies within me.

The notion that work has to be sacrificed for life or vice versa is often misguided. Work and life can be buddies, BFF, and our very health, happiness and success depend on how well we accept this. There are a few questions to be asked when we start the work-life balance conversation. Do we like and enjoy the "work" we do? If we do, we have to know that because we like and enjoy it, this does not mean that we spend more hours than we should in the office, to the neglect of family, home and loved ones. In fact, when we truly like and enjoy what we do, we are satisfied that we have given 100% during the normal work hours, but rather than feel depleted, we feel energized, and that energy is transferred when we get home. On the other hand, when we are doing work that is simply a "chore" or "routine", we are enervated and have nothing to give to ourselves or family when we get home. Therein lies the lack of balance. Finding work-life balance is about feeling passionate about what we do, doing it well enough to confidently leave it behind at the end of the day, and having enough overflow to stay engaged in the rest of your own lives.

Another basic question might answer whether or not we use "work" as an excuse to disengage from other areas of our lives. Any workaholics out there? Is it really about the job? Trust me, we are more dispensable that we think we are! Yet other questions: what do you do to find inner peace? Balance, whether at work or in life (and it's all the same, depending on how you choose to see it!) is about what is going on at your core; that place that your boss, spouse, or child does not get

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