The Boundaries of Life: How to Create Work-Life Balance
Updated: May 25, 2022
People have put effort into achieving work-life balance for years. The reason everyone is still trying to do so is because they are concentrating on the wrong thing. The focus needs to be on something most people have issue with: Creating healthy boundaries.
Today’s work culture attempts to utilize the concept of balance to some extent, but corporate culture will always prioritize its needs obscuring your boundaries. In recent years, most companies
revolutionized the way they did business by redefining office jobs and modifying duties to allow for remote work.
As thousands of people have already figured out, balance does not mean working from home. Often times remote work arrangements lead to more work because you never leave your office.
Corporate culture is still setting your boundaries and taking advantage every chance it can. If a work-life balance is what you seek, the values and morals of your employer compared to what adds importance to your life could be in conflict.
Define Values and Morals
Values and morals are similar but have finite differences in the way they affect your boundaries. Values tend to stay the same throughout your life even if you fall out of alignment with them. Whereas, morals can shift as influences in your life change.
Morals are expressed through behavior whereas values are characteristics. Values describe a concept but provide no way to conceptualize it. They are not supposed to be lifeless—they require action to mean anything. Action creates culture and tradition and how you perform that action energetically portrays your morals.
Think of values as whatever adds significance and meaning to your life. Things such as kindness, family, or adventure—whatever is important to you.
Values that add meaning to work culture are things such as diversity, integrity, respect, quality, or teamwork. Behavior reinforces corporate culture just as it does family tradition. Authenticity is present when the behavior does not compromise core values; therefore, behavior creates boundaries. Inauthentic values are not supported by the accompanying behavior as action tells you what is truly valued.
If you have a job, be thankful for it. A grateful heart helps with boundaries, in so much as we take things for granted. While you are at your job, understand your duties and work the heck out of them. When you know you give your best, then you have nothing to prove, and there is no worries about what your company will do when you hold your personal boundary and leave on time, as an example. You align with your truth by doing what is correct for you.
Align with Your Truth
You must position yourself with your authenticity in order to act with your best interest at heart. Wild Moon Healing is about getting to know yourself (what do you value?) and aligning your truth with your thoughts, words, and actions.
Authenticity relates to boundaries in the way you feel free to live your life on your terms. For example, you can say, “No, I cannot commit to that,” if that is what is in your best interest. Boundaries are necessary as they define your limits and create healthy relationships with yourself, family, friends, coworkers, and employers. It is hard to make it clear to others what your limits are if you do not know your own truth or are energetically depleted (i.e., committing to things when you shouldn’t).
Boundaries are permeable, conceptual, and change according to the level of your energetic frequency. Who you are with, where you are, what you ate, how you slept, and how you manage your available time and commitments are all factors that influence the level at which your energy radiates. How do you create and maintain healthy boundaries that don’t compromise your energy?
How Do You Create Healthy Boundaries?
You live by your boundaries by aligning with your truth, defining your moral compass, and living by a code of conduct (values, behaviors, and actions). There are three not-so-easy steps to establishing boundaries healthy to your lifestyle and needs.
#1 – Define what adds value to your life.
#2 – Determine what behavior leads to accomplishment.
#3 – Take action.
If a successful work-life boundary looks like ending your day at 5 PM so you can spend quality time with your family (what you truly value in life), then what behaviors and actions will create the path necessary for you to achieve that goal? Simply follow your path and leave at 5 PM.
Sounds easy, but you are still at the office at 5:30 or you take that call at 6:45 that interrupts family dinner. When 6 PM becomes your new 5 PM on a regular basis, you know balance is not the issue. Rather, you compromise your commitments to yourself and your family as work (or other commitments—whatever you are trying to balance) overcomes your personal boundary.
It is very possible to have conflicting values. However, what success looks like to you and how you go about getting there is as unique as you are. Before you can define success you must stop the corporate hustle and align with your truth.
Boundaries (and ultimately achieving balance) are all about you. You may need to unlearn what you think you know in order to maintain your boundary. Make and keep a small commitment to yourself and see what positive changes you notice in your life. More importantly, what changes you notice in yourself.
Let me know how it goes in the comments below.