Recently, Gokal Law Group partner Alison Gokal was featured on ProVisor’s Empower Hour in Orange County. She was chosen to discuss her perspective on work-life balance and why recalibration is the true answer to finding balance.
Read on to learn more about her thoughts and insights into how you can improve your life balance starting today:
Constantly Move Forward
Who has ever surfed? Snowboarded? Walked? At every moment when you are attempting to do these things, you are constantly moving and adjusting. When you think you’ve found the perfect footing on your board, you need to shift again.
In life, just like in these sports, there is no one moment where you reach a perfect balance. True balance means you keep moving, so the concept of work-life balance does not really exist. Moving and adjusting your priorities and actions regularly is truly how you find balance because, as humans, we are constantly growing and evolving. Recalibrate each time you find yourself out of balance, because staying stagnant will cause you to fall in the water. This includes being present in the moment and setting intentions for your recalibrations to adjust as your priorities change. When talking about moving forward, it’s the practice, not the destination that is important.
Redefine “Successful”
To successfully recalibrate your life to find true balance, it helps to remind yourself that life is short. The “I wish I did this or that” isn’t important, and ruminating on regrets or past mistakes will only throw you further off balance. To successfully balance your life, you need to focus on being thankful for the things you do have. Whether that be spending time with family, success at work, or being active, redefine the actions that determine your success.
What are your goals out of life? Building your balance around those goals, and setting intentions each day to honor who you are and who you want to be is the true path to balance. If you pursue this, then you are successful, regardless of the metrics for “success” others may place on you. The act of recalibration itself sets you on the path to success, not surpassing societal benchmarks or being better than others.
Ride Your Own Wave
The biggest roadblock on the path to balance is judgment, from both yourself and others. Judgment and comparison can make recalibrating yourself hard because you put the focus of your success and happiness on someone else. For Alison, Facebook was a roadblock in her recalibration. Social media is a place to share successes, but very few highlight the hard times. Comparing herself to other parents became a weight for Alison, so taking a break is a necessity.
Understanding what triggers your self-judgment and cutting those things out can help you ride your own wave and focus on yourself rather than the “waves” of others. Focusing on yourself changes the way you look at things in all walks of your life. With this refocus comes a more positive outlook and a better ability to hone in on the things you can do every day to become a better version of yourself.
Challenge Yourself to Play
As an adult, it can be entirely too easy to be bogged down in responsibilities and hyper-focus on the monotonous requirements of life. However, recalibration and true balance in life require us to play sometimes. Try to find the fun and joy in just a moment, however fleeting it may be. Actively do things that bring you happiness leads to balance.
Each day, ask yourself, “What have I done today that was play?” If you don’t have an answer, then you have the opportunity to expand your world. There is no “perfect” moment, because balance is constantly shifting and moving, but we can still find joy in these adjustments.
At the end of the day, true-life balance comes from being good enough for yourself and prioritizing the things that make you happy. If you put yourself first every morning, you will live your life in reflection of your values, and balance will come to you.
To learn more about Alison, please visit her profile page. If you believe you have a case that falls under Gokal Law Group’s practice areas please contact us at 949-753-9100. Gokal Law Group is a family firm that treats our clients as if they were our own flesh and blood. We fight for our clients as we would our own children, sisters, brothers, and parents. We are our clients’ Warriors, fighting to bring them justice and right the wrongs they have endured.
Each attorney has a specific practice area for which they are tried, tested, and battle-ready. They have vast years of experience in their practice area, providing them the knowledge,
skills, and vision to fight and win. Learn more about Gokal Law Group.