This post is part of an ongoing challenge to go through James Clear’s list of Core Values and take a week to reflect on each one.

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Balance is a Core Value of which I could probably use more in my life. One of the first things that comes to mind is Koyaanisqatsi, the Hopi term for ‘Life out of Balance’ and the title of an experimental non-narrative film with stunning imagery that we were mildly obsessed with for a bit in high school. While the film intersperses time lapse and slow motion shots of epic nature landscapes with modern urban bustle, perhaps it would be better to shift my narrative of the subject to the part with which I struggle the most: moderation.

I feel like the idea of Balance in one’s life is normally related to making sure we don’t spend too much time on one thing: to make a conscious effort to apply our time in the different areas of our lives. This could be something like ‘work/life balance’ or the ‘four burners’ theory of living one’s life. However, traditionally, I’m someone who tends towards extremes. I’m either working out everyday or doing nothing for months on end. I’ll dive headfirst into a project, like Oscar Party, or don’t want to do it at all. Is there a way then to balance doing extraordinary things by committing fully for a period of time with not allowing everything to fall apart? Perhaps by limiting the time frame. By balancing the time frame commitments, we can find Balance while still pursuing things fully. In this way, Balance becomes less the leveled sides of evenly distributed scales, and more of a series of predetermined pulses with rests in the middle.