Game of Words: View vs. Counter View 3.02

Striking the Perfect Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is an important aspect of a healthy work environment. It is an aspect, however, that is more subjective than the others. Is being successful in one’s work considered important enough to allow it to influence one's own well being? Or should personal health and commitments allow priorities to be put on hold? 

View: 

 “We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.” —Michelle Obama, former First Lady.

Being successful in the current work age does not stop at achieving the peak of financial stability, but it requires adopting a lifestyle where you strive to be at the top of your game at all times and being the best of the best. Saying that employees today are under a lot of stress is an understatement, with the number of suicide cases increasing at an alarming rate. The question now is: do we value the balance of our bank statement at the expense of our lives?

One would think that being your own boss would reduce the pressure of being under constant scrutiny but an interview with Lakshman bhaiya changed my perspective on this subject. Having been in the fruit selling business for over 2 decades, he has witnessed the struggles of owning a fruit cart and having to sell his wares in the scorching heat of the day. In spite of the hardships that he faces, when I approached him with the question of how it is that he manages his work-life balance, his answer was highly unexpected. While I was prepared for him to list out the downfalls the profession carries, he surprised me with an answer that taught me a universal truth: “I work on my own time and have no schedule as such. I have no strategy and derive my strength from the relationship I have with my family and with God.” 

This goes to show that it is solely up to us to handle our work-life balance the way we want to. We can blame our job, our boss, the deadlines we have to meet and many other relevant factors, or we can choose to be like Lakshman bhayia and accept that every job comes with its own set of shortcomings and handle it before it reaches a point where our health is at stake.  His concluding message held an impactful lesson that should be mentally adopted by everyone who receives it: “If I am alive tomorrow, I live to work another day, if not, I go to God.”

Counter View:

“SET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT”- Dr. Pavan Soni (Inflexion Consultant) 

Balance like a pirate: a pirate is both a captain and the king of the sea. It can be considered as an unnecessary necessity. Therefore, balance comes along with the package of potentiality within oneself—it comes  with accepting the dissonance in you and that is why it is a necessity.  

Priorities are progressive in nature. It makes one constantly develop and grow gradually or in stages. Taking the required time to pay attention to the details that will cater to fulfilling pre-set priorities is essential for a satisfactory outcome. Dr. Pavan Soni personally believes that a person that develops the ability to look at one's own priorities through a micro perspective has a better chance at succeeding than those that fixate on a macro way of thought.  This, according to him, is the beginning of balance. ‘Choice’ plays a crucial role in striking a stable balance as it is also understood that the choice we make comes along with a cost.

His advice to the people of the world would be to take that extra mile and try to move forward by adopting the mindset of one who is able to understand both failure and success. Taking risks becomes an easier measure once this mentality is fully understood. The first and primary challenge will be the ability to make a tenacious effort to hold to one's true self in this process.

Furthermore, Dr. Pavan Soni added that setting priorities comes with planning and decision making and stated that we ought to challenge our threshold point in order to sustain and be consistent because life is not always pink. He believes that strength must be derived from within ourselves, as external factors like family and spirituality can only amplify us. He concluded by saying: “Working for our daily bread is an unsaid weighted responsibility on each of us. We live everyday and die once, so make it count.”

Written by:

Sonam Gomes 

Clinton Justin