While I am pretty psyched about the line up of fall shows that will return to TV starting in September, I have recently become hooked on a not so new show, called “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” on CNBC. It’s an advice show about how to succeed in business, but sometimes the thoughts just transfer over to real life. Last night’s show was about stress, and how to manage it, but was broken into smaller segments. The most important point in the show was about achieving balance, so called the “b word”, as if it is some illusive principal. 

People talk about getting balance in life and business in so many ways, but I think that this is really a false concept, because everyone has different levels. Balance as a concept assumes that something is in equal measure in many places; but in life this is almost impossible. For the purposes of the show last night, callers were talking about trying to balance their professional lives with their personal lives. But how much of this is really true? Is there anyone that really spends exactly the same amount engaged in work as they they do in their private lives? Isn’t it more likely the case that, depending on your work situation and your your personal situation you might have more than the other? 

Take for example, people who work more than 12 hours per day, and are so tired when they get home, they eat and go straight to bed. No personal life there. Or stay at home moms: their work is 100% their life. No balance here. Picking up kids, grocery shopping, laundry, etc. That’s all in a day’s work. Then there are people who work just enough to keep their personal life going. No problem here. This is where I fall. I definitely value more my personal life that I do my work life. My work is a means to supporting my personal goals (shopping, vacations, saving money, etc). HOWEVER, if I had my own company, I would probably spend more time working, and be less focused on my personal life (as was the case with some of the callers on last night’s “Big Idea”). Think about where you fall in the balance scheme…

SIngle Ma addresses a similar issue on her blog, Fabulous Financials, where she asks the question is it better to receive payments in time or dollars when dealing with over time. I invite you to check it out.