Can We Please Stop Pretending Balance Means Doing It All?

 Can We Please Stop Pretending Balance Means Doing It All?

I’m tired of the word “balance” being thrown around like it’s some kind of aesthetic or productivity hack. Because let's be honest, balance does not mean having your life perfectly organized, color coded, emotions are under control, and everything is perfect perfect polished in your home everyday, with a to do list done by 9 pm. 

Balance, and the REAL kind of balance in life between work, school, personal life and all of the above is the real kind, the messy kind. It could look like you haven't been able to study because you have work, crying between shifts, staying up late to write a paper at 2 AM and getting no sleep, or saying no to plans because your brain is on overdrive and it seems impossible to even add one more thing in your day. Yet, every time we scroll online, we’re told we can “achieve balance” by waking up earlier, drinking more water, and buying a new planner, and smiling more! 

PRETEND PRETEND PRETEND PRETEND. That is what I call nonsense. 

We’ve been told, showed, and advertised this lie that “balance” is something you can achieve if you just work hard enough, like it's something of a luxury, and if calmness is finally rewarded and achieved when reaching perfection. 
But the truth is, most of us are doing our best just to stay afloat.

Balance isn’t about having it all together; it’s about allowing yourself to fall apart when you need to, and knowing you’ll figure it out again later.

Balance is not a perfect morning routine, not a spotless apartment, not glowing skin, and what you planned in your planner for the fay perfectly falls into place. Some days balance looks like calm coffee mornings and therapy breakthroughs. Other days, its burnout, takeout, and doing the bare minimum to make it to tomorrow.

Both are okay.

Both count.

Both mean you’re trying — and that’s enough.

Both are valid. 

So let’s stop romanticizing “balance” like it’s a pink filter over life.
It’s not. It’s real, it's hard, and sometimes uncomfortable and ugly, but it’s also what makes you resilient.