It’s Not About Equal Time by Keynote Speaker and Human Relationship Expert Connie Podesta

As a motivational keynote speaker in today’s sometimes chaotic world, I’m often asked by clients to deliver a message on BALANCE and I’m happy to share.  The truth is balance will never, EVER be about equal time.  It’s just not.  For anyone who works, enjoys a career, has outside interests, volunteers, is a parent, is a spouse or partner, has aging parents — you name it – you can’t equal out the time. “Balancing Home and Career” gives the illusion that there’s a magical way to equalize these two parts of your life. No one has discovered a way to do that yet.  In fact, most people who attempt to define balance in terms of equal time for home and career usually end up frustrated and disappointed when they discover that it’s easier said than done. The truth is:  MOST JOBS REQUIRE THAT YOU SPEND FAR MORE TIME AT WORK THAN YOU SPEND AT HOME. 

There is also a problem with the premise that your personal life and your professional life are two distinct parts of who you are. Sure, your company has the right to expect that you commit fully to working hard during paid work time and leave your personal problems at home, and your family deserves to have your full attention and share quality time with you.  It can be tough sometimes to compartmentalize our attitudes, behaviors, perceptions, and feelings into two totally separate worlds. But here’s the thing:  YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE. There’s no such thing as a “personal life” and a “professional life” — you have a LIFE and there will always be pushing and pulling from all sides.

Here’s what you CAN do.  You can nurture all those parts of you, and the people in your life so that you find fulfillment and feel RESPECTED, APPRECIATED, and RECOGNIZED in all the different areas of your life.  You can go easy on yourself when one part of your life takes over for a little while, knowing that there will always be those shifts in attention and power.  You can stop the practice of comparing yourself to others who you think have it “more together” or are “perfect” because honestly, no one is exempt from the tricky teeter-totter of balancing it all.

Head into the new year with knowing that you don’t need to ‘have it all’ to be happy.  You don’t need to make the clock work exactly in equal proportions for all the areas of your life.  You can do the best you can and earn the respect, appreciation, and care as a business person, a parent, a spouse, a partner, a friend, a child, a colleague, a sibling — and when you have all that going for you — the rest will take care of itself.


Learn more about finding balance in your life by downloading my book STANDOUT Balance for free this holiday season!  Simply click here to view the book, add it to your shopping bag and use the coupon code:  FREEBALANCE to download on the house!  I wish great things for you in the coming year!  I’d love to hear your thoughts!