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Here at the-Coaching Blog-run by Gerard O’Donovan, our aim is to constantly bring value to those seeking to improve their lives. Therefore we have a policy of publishing articles and materials by guest authors whom we value and appreciate. Today’s guest author is Ronita Neal (Australia).
There has been so much written on the topic of work-life balance. This term seems to have hijacked the national conversation over the last 5 years or so. My question is “what does it mean”? How would I know if I have reached this “mythical” balanced state? Finally “what is the point”?
One of the problems I see in this discussion on work-life balance is that we do not have a good understanding of WHY this topic is important and so it is difficult to know WHAT needs to be done in order to get the good OUTCOMES from paying attention to this area.
From my point of view, our understanding the emphasis on “balance” needs to be much deeper. While the discussion has been about balancing the time or energy we spend on the various aspects of our life (Work, Family, Friends, Spiritual, Health, etc.) we cannot hope to work out what this means for us without understanding WHY. Yes, the final outcome is that we are healthier and happier, but it is the HOW that is important.
In order to be happier and healthier what needs to be BALANCED is our brain… the chemical activity in our brain that determines our moods and helps to regulate our general functioning. This chemical balance relates to both how we spend our time (the activities we are doing and the environments we are in) as well as how we think (whether we tend to think with a positive or negative bias). These things contribute to whether our brain has a healthy “balance”.
This then also relates to our general physical health, mental health, energy, focus, and ability to contribute to those around us. HOW we achieve this will be different for all of us. If we love our work and enjoy what we do every day we may be able to maintain a great sense of well being while working long hours because we will be generating a great deal of positive chemicals in our brain every day. If we work in a toxic environment or in a job that is a bad fit, then we will not be able to maintain a sense of well being without taking time and doing activities to balance the negative chemical load placed on our brain while we are at work. Conversely, one of the pieces of advice normally given in the discussion of Work-life balance is that you should spend more time with family. This will not be helpful if your family environment is toxic and so you will need to look for one of the other areas to help provide more positive input to your chemical balance.
Coaches are in a great position to help people work through these issues by providing an objective partner to help evaluate whether all the different areas of life a making a positive or a negative contribution to overall mental balance. They can also help identify (and support) changes that may move some of the negative contributors more to the positive side.
A great starting point for promoting a more positive chemical balance is regular moderate exercise (moderate here means to the point of huffing and puffing). This not only promotes better “balance” but also promotes the correct environment within the brain to support the changes and clear thinking that will be necessary to bring things into better “balance”
About Ronita Neal
Ronita Neal is currently the President of International Coach Federation Australasia Queensland Branch. Over the last 25 years, she worked with an amazing range of people, businesses, and organizations in a number of different roles including as a psychologist, consultant, trainer, coach, and facilitator. Using a combined framework from the areas of Neuropsychology, Occupational Positive Psychology, and Coaching Psychology, she has devised programs to help Leaders and Workers to be more MindWise in the way they work and manage. This will enable to boost both their personal and their team performance (through improved engagement and productivity) in a sustainable way.
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