Last week I was at a conference for entrepreneurs (look at this beautiful background!)…

…and the topic of “balance” came up on the panel.

One person said they prefer swapping in the word “harmony” instead of balance.

This made me think of a symphony: some notes are louder or last longer; different instruments add their tones; some rest while others play, and sometimes the sounds overlap, and it all works together.

Another speaker on the panel said they think of balance like walking on a balance beam, not like a scale. It’s not about each part of your life being equal; it’s focusing on what you need, in order to keep moving forward.

You may have heard the idea that you are constantly juggling in life, but the key is to realize that some balls, aka responsibilities, are plastic, and some are glass. If you drop a plastic ball, it’ll bounce, but a glass one will shatter, so you have to know which ones are which, and prioritize.

One part of that metaphor that often gets skipped is that you’re not just juggling major areas in life, like work, kids, health, etc., but all the micro tasks we have too, and sometimes you have to drop a plastic ball to catch a glass ball.

And it’s especially important to remember that sometimes work is a plastic ball, and sometimes it’s a glass ball. The same can be said for your partner or kids; we’re not talking about the PERSON, but one task.

Harmony, beams, juggling…different metaphors for balance, but the common thread is choice. It’s rarely about keeping everything equal—it’s about deciding how we use our energy and attention, and knowing it might not always feel balanced in the moment, even when it’s the right call.

If you’d like support talking things through and coming up with a strategy to make those choices easier, whether that’s creating a step-by-step goal map, or nudges to dream even bigger, I can help. Book a 1:1 Strategy Session or Private Workshop here: https://nicolebensen.com/strategy.

– Nicole