OH! Magazine - Australian Version December 2016 | Page 39

(Women’s Health)
NARDIA
NORMAN

IT’S ALL ABOUT WORK/LIFE
INTEGRATION
Nardia Norman shares her perspective on the notion of work/life balance.

W

ork/life balance. It’s one of those myths that keeps people
feeling like failures when they can’t achieve it.

Personally, I don’t believe in work/life balance but I do believe in
work/life INTEGRATION. This is because nothing in life stays
perfectly balanced (unless you’re living in some sort of vacuum).
As humans, we are constantly adjusting and reacting to our
internal and external envrionment. This means we are dynamic
beings rather than static. Therefore, learning how to integrate
different parts of our lives during those times when it’s necessary,
is often more effective than trying to chase down that elusive
notion of balance.
When you accept that there are times in life when your focus
needs to be on one thing more than another, then you just might
find yourself feeling happier and less stressed.

The key is to learn how to give the appropriate amount of
attention and focus to the priority, whilst also giving enough to
the other areas in your life so that they don’t fall apart. For
example, if your business is demanding all your time and
energy, then accept that home life or your own exercise regime
may be dampened down a bit. When I’m going through a period
of intense work I don’t expect to be able to put that same
intensity and focus into my workouts because, mentally, I just
don’t have the capacity to do so. This isn’t a bad thing; it’s just
a distribution of energy thing.
Learn how to accept and work with the ebbs and flow of energy
and attention, and you’ll find yourself avoiding the attempt to
create balance. Ironically, when you start to avoid the chase to
achieve balance, the result is often that you feel more ‘in
balance.’
Once you check your perspective, you’ll probably be surpised at
how much things start to shift. Good luck!

YOU CAN CONTACT NARDIA VIA:
Web: nardianorman.com
Facebook: nardia.norman
Twitter: @nardianorman
Instagram: @nardianorman

OH! MAGAZINE ( DECEMBER 2016 )

39