Thoughts on Balance: Are We Cheating Ourselves?

Jen at Bagels to Broccoli shared a great post recently, and it got me thinking about my own use of the word balance. In fact, it got me thinking about the term in a way I never have before.

Balance is a good thing, right? We all strive for balance, whether it’s the effort we put into our work and social lives, our various relationships, or eating well/exercising while indulging when appropriate.

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But are we taking the idea of balance a bit too far?

A while back I talked about how I despise the concepts of “cheating.” You know what I mean—eating “healthy” meals Monday through Friday so you can “cheat” on the weekend? Or “justifying” your Sunday afternoon Netflix binge because you worked out every other day?

It’s great—healthy, even—to allow yourself some much-needed slack (there are days we just don’t feel like working out or just really want a cupcake), but we should never use this idea of balance as an apology.

If we constantly point out our “grievances” and feel the need to justify our choices by scrambling to label them as “balance,” are we really doing ourselves any favors?

We might label our attitudes as easygoing and guilt-free, but I question whether striving for the perfect ideal of balance isn’t the same tired game of comparison and failing to reach unrealistic standards that we aim to avoid.

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What is balance anyway?

Is it exercising for an hour in the day so you can have ice cream at night? Is it following an 80-20 diet (eating “clean” 80% of the time and splurging the other 20%)?

Or is it simply the picture you paint and share in order to avoid judgment and convince both yourself and your peers that you have it all together?

For instance: you’re out with friends and indulge in a few too many calorie-filled cocktails or end a perfect date night with your own ice cream-topped brownie instead of sharing one. Rather than simply enjoying the drinks/dessert, you take a photograph, post it to Instagram, and tag it with some snarky or self-deprecating #becausebalance in an effort to justify your decision and explain to others your choice wasn’t routine.

If that’s the case, did you really enjoy that extra drink? And do you think that maybe that brownie isn’t so much a symbol, apology, or excuse as it is just a really tasty brownie?

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Face it. Even before the advent of blogs and social media, we were a society obsessed with appearance and competition. Now with Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, it’s impossible to avoid comparison and the need to present a certain “image” or “brand” to the world.

If we want to achieve—and enjoy—a life of balance, we should probably take a break and simply enjoy both our meals and our workouts for how they make us feel. (I’m speaking to myself here, too.)

Be sure you’re making your choices because they’re what you WANT and FEEL—not because they represent some mythological idea of health. And remember that your idea of balance today may look completely different in the future.