MATTHEW VIVEEN PHOTO

JUGGLING IN THE CIRCUS OF LIFE: LEARNING TO BALANCE YOUR LIFE

I am no circus performer, but sometimes it feels like I’m juggling flaming pins while standing on a pile of hay doused in gasoline.  

Mostly, when I speak of juggling in my own life, I’m not referring to rainbow sacks or flaming pins, but rather to all the responsibilities and activities I struggle to keep up with.   

One mistake, one slip up and everything is messed up.  

So, to put it less morbidly, my crazy life overwhelms me sometimes.  

Typically, I tend to work hard to keep myself organized, through tracking all kinds of “vitals” like my readings, homework, feelings and habits.  

While I’m not one to typically make broad assumptions, I’m sure many of us—employees and students alike—understand the absolute stress of exam season, or the challenge of a long day’s work. In our world, employers know that many workers are desperate for money and just a single text message away. Meanwhile, us students understand the constant pressure, between keeping up with school and preparing for our future. 

So it’s no surprise that in recent years there has been an extreme resurgence of the “all work, no play’’ mindset, newly dubbed the “grindset”. 

The growing trend is to spend all their available free time in the office or in the fitness studio, instead of being with friends, family or even partaking in the most casual of hobbies.  

In this mindset, everything must have a competitive goal to achieve: getting a new best time on the treadmill or taking on extra jobs to prove they are hard workers.  

Such a life runs on a constant loop is like a hamster running on its wheel.  A closed circle, repeating for whoever knows how long. 

Our society places a lot of emphasis on living such a work-oriented life of vigour. 

In the insane and fast-paced world we live in, we often struggle to stay afloat balancing different responsibilities.  

That’s why some people’s brains go into an overdrive of sorts, where they focus on what seems the most important to them at that specific moment—like how when you start a really good show, finishing it ASAP is all you want to do.  

Comparatively, our society tends to promote the “get quick rich!” and “millionaire under 30” lifestyle, to the extent very clear toxic positivity.  

Being able to stay focused, struggle through work tasks, set yourself a goal and achieve it might seem a positive character trait, but those “Over-Achievers” are seldom aware of the mental and physical toll their mindset might have.  

Sorry to the risers and the grinders, working 96 hours a week might not just make you a lot of money; it may make you mentally ill as well.  

According to Nivata—a company whose prime focus is to help support the mental health of employees through therapy, massages and financial aid, nearly half of Americans suffer from workaholism: the urge to constantly be working.  

Similarly, the WHO directly links overworking to mental health issues such as hightened anxiety and depression, plus the added work stress has caused these workaholics to be at a higher risk for both heart attacks and strokes 

While I already have my methods of self-organization accustomed to what works for me, I think that so many people in our world today put far too much value into living a life of “constant action”, in both the workplace and school.  

The issue is, living a life of such intensity throws the balance of our souls out of line.  

Embracing that we all need breaks is what makes us human. It is challenging for us to hit the slow-motion button on our lives and calm everything down.  

We must reassess our motives and goals for both the near and far future.