The Wrong Balance

It's what I hear a lot of people say in the comments when I talk about presence, the future, or habits:

"You have to find a balance."

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?

Taking the idea on board without going to extremes – who could argue with that?

Me! I think it's the wrong approach.

It's the cheap way out. The refuge of the lazy, of anyone unwilling to question themselves.

When a new idea comes along, and you realize it matters, the goal isn't to go 50/50 with the old one.

"I discovered that killing was wrong, so I found a balance: 50% genocide, 50% gardening." That doesn't work.

It's often an excuse to hold on to your most toxic old behaviors without changing what matters most.

If an idea changes everything, you have to let it change everything.

By that I mean: you have to do the work of following through on what it means for your life, your behavior, your day-to-day.

You have to accept that it works its way into every corner and, in the end, affects every part of your life.

Yes, it can take time.

No, it doesn't happen overnight.

Yes, in the meantime, you'll pass through all sorts of intermediate balances between the person you were and the one you're becoming.

But these intermediate balances aren't the result.

Let alone the goal.

When you're steering toward a light on the horizon, you don't stop at its reflection in the puddle at your feet.

You look into the distance. You set off without knowing the way.

And the adventure begins.