Work/Life Balance is a Myth
Work/Life Balance is an illusion. Take it from me, someone who had achieved and maintained Work/Life Balance yet underneath all the material success; I was unfulfilled and left with a massive void. Back in February of 2019, I couldn’t ignore the gaping hole anymore. Despite building a million dollar business while working less than 4 hours a day and being named to Silicon Valley’s 40 Under 40 honoree list at just 31 years old; I was ready for a change.
The Spiritual Journey
An experience called a “Breathwork Journey” was my introduction to exploring my inner world and connection to something greater than this human experience. A breathwork journey is a deep cathartic breathing technique continued for about an hour with the aim of mimicking a trauma response to allow the body to release stored stress, anxiety and even trauma within the body (more on this soon).
It was this experience that cracked me wide open. I experienced what many NDE (near death experience) survivor’s would equate to a life review and for those of you that have seen Pixar’s “Soul” it was very much like the scene with the main character, Joe Gardner, looking at his life from multiple perspectives. The advantage of a “life review” is that you are given the opportunity to revisit memories and experiences and see it from an outside perspective. I’ve talked about this at length on my podcast, Soul Seekr, and in my book, “SOUL/Life Balance”, so I’ll leave it at that for now. Here’s a short YouTube video about this if you’d like to go deeper.
After my first breathwork journey, I became fascinated with spirituality and dedicated everything I had to learning and experiencing all I could to satisfy this thirst for existential knowledge.
Defining SOUL/Life Balance
Over the years I’ve explored so many rabbit holes, and I love to go super deep on the wild esoteric topics. Yet, that’s not what matters most in terms of shifting from a life void of happiness and fulfillment to one that I now live that is full of enthusiasm and vitality.
What our collective society needs most is the subtle shift of SOUL/Life Balance and this is why …
The archetypal energy of yang represents our external world and everything we experience in physical form through our five senses. Additionally, yang represents structure, obligations, responsibilities … it’s how we show up in the world.
Whereas the archetypal energy of yin represents our inner world – our emotional / mental / physiological and spiritual connection. That yin energy is our connection to something beyond this human experience along with the characteristics of flow, receptivity, and intuition.
So, with this in mind, it now becomes abundantly clear that Work/Life Balance is a double up of Yang energy. It’s no wonder why we are facing such an extreme Mental Health Crisis!
Generally speaking, the majority of people; (especially in western culture), are living their waking days having no idea how they are actually feeling. We’re just going through the motions as if we’re living in a Groundhog day reliving the same day over and over again.
The practice of SOUL/Life Balance puts yourself first and foremost by prioritizing your mental well-being while simultaneously reframing “work” as part of this human experience.
Breathwork Basics
Below are a few alarming statistics as it relates to our current Mental Health …
Nearly 6 in 10 Americans have experienced concerns about either their own mental health or the mental health of family and friends.
53% of adults say they became comfortable seeking care and resources for their own mental health after hearing about other people’s challenges.
Nearly 3/4 of employed adults say their employer should offer resources and access to mental health services.
Approximately four in 10 adults feel that mental health related conversations with friends and family positively impact mental health.
Breathwork is my first love when it comes to addressing my well-being along with filling my need to feel connected to something beyond this human experience. Breathwork, for me, has been a profound shift in how I operate day to day.
Here’s what you need to know about Breathwork:
- It’s Confusing: When I say “Breathwork”, I’m referring to “Breathwork Journeys”. Remember, a breathwork journey is about 60 minutes of a specific style of breathing to mimic a trauma response. It’s intense to say the least. Whereas “breathwork” also is something commonly found in meditation and yoga classes.
- Understanding Your Nervous System: The Parasympathetic Nervous System represents rest & digest – slowing down. Most of the time when folks say “breathwork” they are referring to a short technique (2-5 minutes) that will help to shift you in this resting state. The Sympathetic Nervous System represents fight or flight. Generally speaking, I recommend the cyclic sigh (watch this video to learn this modality) as it’s the #1 way to shift from fight or flight to rest and digest (according to Stanford’s Lab run by Dr. Andrew Huberman). However, the reason breathwork journeys activate the sympathetic nervous system is intentional and it’s meant to be a form of “Shadow Work” to address unprocessed emotions and experiences to release them. You can learn more about all of this by visiting this series of videos on Breathwork hosted on my YouTube channel, Spirituality Simplified (click here).
Now that we have a baseline understanding of breathwork, I hope you can see why I’m so passionate about this specific practice. I like to begin my mornings and end my days with a short practice of the cyclic sigh to just check-in and see how I’m feeling. The practice of the cyclic sigh is an amazing tool to utilize throughout the day as well (again, click here to learn this technique). I reserve the deeper Breathwork Journeys more as a quarterly check-in, it’s not necessary to do these deeper experiences as often. If you’re feeling ready for a breathwork journey, you can email me (Sam@SamKabert.com) to chat about a private 1:1 session, organizing a group experience or to hear my schedule of when public sessions will be held next.
Speaking
I’ve been speaking on stages to audiences ranging of HR professionals, Corporate Executives, Local Government Leaders and event Students for the past year and a half. The journey to becoming a public speaker has been so rewarding and I’m just getting started. If you’d like to learn more about having me speak to a group of yours, you can visit my website SamKabert.com. I feel in so much alignment when I’m speaking on stage and my ultimate goal is to have “SOUL/Life Balance” replace the phrase “Work/Life Balance”. Just imagine how much will shift in our collective mental well-being by making this shift to prioritize your well-being first!
Remember, Nearly 6 in 10 Americans have experienced concerns about either their own mental health or the mental health of family and friends.
My book, “SOUL/Life Balance” is available on Amazon (click here) and I also provide 1:1 and group coaching, email me for details.
GO DEEPER
If you’re interested in working on 1:1 or in a collaborative event, send an email to me directly at Sam@SamKabert.com.
Thank you for taking the time to commit to yourself to show up for yourself. One step at a time. It’s not easy, but it is simple and it’s more accessible with community.