I used to say life is about balance. Then I spent years after my day job chasing every side project idea I had, shipping none of them, and burning out on the thing that was supposed to be my escape. I wrote about it in Don’t forget to sharpen your axe. Balance never showed up. A pattern did.
Perfect balance is static. Nothing happens there. The good stuff happens at the edges, when you work hard, when you play hard, when you lean all the way in. That’s where growth happens, and it’s also where you burn out if you stay too long. The edge takes everything out of you.
So life isn’t balance, it’s counterbalance. You push one way, then pull back. Intensity, then rest. Yes, then no. The fix for my side projects was ruthless nights with one task and no distractions, and other nights with nothing to ship at all.
Knowing which night is which is the skill.