This post was mentioned on Twitter by dawnbugni: RT @leanneclc: Guest post today by @Seiden: “To Chase “Balance” is to Chase Mediocrity” http://bit.ly/3cV9bk #worklife…

I think you’re point I valid, but functionally inverted. Balance, or homeostasis, IS possible AND desirable. But to have it, you first need things to weigh against each other. This is where most people fail: they spend too much time managing the scale, or adding things to each side bit by bit. (That 168 hr per week excercise is about the scale rather than the stuff you’re doing. ) The result is that they are not happy because they spend too little time with stuff that matters and wind up balancing crap that isn’t important to them.

Passion is absolutely vital–but not that contrived, jump our of a plane kind. I’m talking passion for the day itself. Ie, remembering to find things to lik and appreciate about your friends and coworkers. Balance requires active tension from the pull of passion, not the careful management of routine.

The whole concept of passion changes when you juggle passions instead of obligations.

The reason there’s so much discussion about “work/life (fill in the blank)” is because we’re living in a culture where people feel completely unable to attach legitimacy to the things that matter in their lives. By expressing a lack of balance, they’re trying to say that they feel out of whack, that their priorities are not reflected in their actions, that something is missing from their lives.

Passion is not the solution. I’ve known many passionate workaholics who never see their friends or families. And, lots of people have passions they’d like to spend more time pursuing.

Last week, I sat through a presentation by a motivational speaker who showed us photos of himself swimming with sharks and changing light bulbs on the top of a bridge. He told us to seize the day.

Oh please. Most of us will never have the luxury of making a living off of a reality show. Most of us can’t leave it all behind and ride cross-country on our Harley in order to follow passion.

And, that’s the whole point. We can live complete, passionate, and balanced lives by taking responsibility for reaching our own homeostasis. By requesting, if not demanding, that the American workplace recognize the value of a human life beyond his/her contribution to the company.

But, don’t characterize that pursuit as one toward mediocrity. I believe it is, in fact, our highest calling.