Balance Is Built
We talk a lot about "finding balance" as if it’s something we work towards or stumble into by luck…
But the truth is, balance isn’t something you find. It’s something you build - step by step, decision by decision, day by day. And in a world that constantly pulls us to extremes, learning how to build it has never been more important.
Where is balance if we know we must be constantly moving in order to feel free?
If we stop, we deal with the repercussions of an uneasy mind.
We often imagine balance as a peaceful, passive state - like sitting by a quiet lake, everything in harmony, the sun shining, birds singing.
But real balance isn’t stillness.
It’s motion.
It’s what keeps us upright when life gets fast, chaotic, or uncertain.
Like Einstein wrote:
"To keep your balance, you must keep moving."
Balance Isn’t Perfection
When we remove the training wheels, we realise balance isn't about doing everything perfectly.
It’s about doing the right things deliberately and letting go of the rest.
The modern hustle mindset glorifies extremes:
Go hard or go home. No pain, no gain. Rest is weakness. Blah, blah, blah.
This all-or-nothing approach leads straight to burnout, self-doubt, and eventually giving up.
Personally, I’ve felt the pressure - to do more, be more, achieve more at all costs. But when you’re constantly sprinting, you lose your direction. You're moving, but not necessarily getting anywhere meaningful.
On one hand, you have the overachievers - operating with an intense desire to succeed, producing above expectations, always chasing more. On the other, you have the underachievers - floating aimlessly, weighed down by nothing, drifting wherever the breeze blows.
Overachievers are weighed down by their trophies.
Underachievers float away because they’re carrying nothing.
Neither extreme leads to true freedom.
Disconnection and Depression
Today, we live in a world where you can become wealthy without ever leaving your house.
And yet - depression rates are higher than ever.
Not because humans have become weaker, but because we’ve disconnected from what we were built for:
Purposeful daily action.
Historians, anthropologists, and evolutionary psychologists all agree that our modern lifestyles create conditions that feed depression:
Chronic isolation
Sedentary behaviour
Disconnection from nature
Lack of real community roles
Endless comparison
We’ve engineered a culture where you can “succeed” without ever stepping outside your comfort zone, but biologically and psychologically, we are still built to move, to strive, to grow.
Instead, we often numb ourselves - scrolling for hours, consuming endlessly, mistaking distraction for rest.
Balance Is Survival
So how the fuck do we find balance in all of this?
Balance isn’t just a nice idea - it’s survival for the modern mind.
Moving your body, working toward something, doing the hard, necessary things, but also resting when needed - that’s how we stay upright, in motion, and alive.
When the balance is just right, you become a high performer that can act with a similar desire to succeed as an overachiever. However, their focus is largely on learning, the journey, and how they can create something better that produces superior long-term results.
Awareness Is the First Step
Centuries ago, daily movement, purpose, and community were woven into life. Historical analysis shows that societies were more survival-driven (food, shelter, safety), and that constant struggle for survival actually created more purposeful action - people had less time for existential despair in the way we experience it now.
Struggle created purpose. People had less time for existential despair.
Today, we reward stillness, passive consumption, instant gratification, superficial success, and virtual achievements. We reward sitting still and wonder why we feel stuck. Without a task, a mission, or a reason to move, life gets dull. Fast.
Without having a task or anything to do in life, it simply makes things that bit more dull.
Balance starts with awareness.
You can’t pour from an empty cup.
You can’t grow if you’re constantly running on fumes.
When things get shaky, you have to recognise what's causing the loss of balance:
Maybe you're tired.
Maybe you’ve abandoned your loved ones chasing work.
Maybe you’re overtrained, overstimulated, undernourished.
There’s always a side effect to losing balance.
You will burn out if you forget that you are human, not a machine.
Hard work is powerful. But so is rest.
Build Systems, Not Just Dreams
Start tracking your energy, not just your time and build routines that respect both your ambition and your well-being. Sure, have hard days but don’t make them your only days.
Push, but know when to pull back. Make space for reflection, rest, and renewal.
Rest is not the opposite of effort - it’s part of the strategy.
When you embrace that, you develop patience to allow things to simmer before taking action.
The right action, for the right reason.
That’s when you begin to craft your own balance.
Balance Is Personal
Balance isn’t something you stumble into - it’s something you build with conviction.
Tim Grover said it best:
"You don’t find balance, you create it. And your definition of balance can be completely different from my definition of balance."
Grover's philosophy underscores the idea that balance is a personal construct, varying from one individual to another. Achieving excellence demands a personalised approach, tailored to your life, your goals, your reality.
Creating your balance is like tailoring a custom suit:
No two are exactly the same.
One person might prefer a sleek black suit with a vest, while another feels most comfortable in a gray, more relaxed cut. The fit, the fabric, the style - each choice reflects individual needs, tastes, and priorities. In the same way, true balance isn't something universal; it's designed around who you are and what you value most.
That’s why balance is my favourite word - in fact, it’s my favourite concept of all.
It’s not about giving more or giving less.
It’s about giving better.
Learning to say no, so your yes actually means something.
And above all, it’s about choosing sustainability over intensity - because the goal isn’t to burn bright for a moment like a falling star.
It’s to shine long enough to become who you’re meant to be.
And in order to shine bright long enough, you’ve got to be hard like a diamond.
And how are diamonds made?
Constant pressure.
A Challenge for You
Do a time audit and start building your own balance - not by guessing, but by observing.
Commit to a balance audit and track how you spend your own precious time and how many balls are you are trying to juggle at the same time - all of it.
Ask yourself:
What’s essential?
What’s noise?
What drains me?
What fuels me?
Remember:
There are 86,400 seconds in a day.
You don’t need to control them all.
But you do need to own how you use them.
Build your balance - one decision at a time.
