The irony is that how we have turned ‘ finding balance ‘ into another stressful obligation.
Before we get on with it, a quick look at the multiple coinages of capitalism that we have(or not have) been privy to over the years. Of course these are beyond the standard “crony capitalism” and “compassionate capitalism“:
- State Capitalism – Government plays a strong directing role while maintaining market economics (e.g., China, Singapore)
- Stakeholder Capitalism – Corporations serve interests of all stakeholders (employees, community, environment) not just shareholders
- Surveillance Capitalism – Economic system based on commodification of personal data for profit (coined by Shoshana Zuboff)
- Conscious Capitalism – Business should operate ethically while pursuing profits (popularized by Whole Foods’ John Mackey)
- Platform Capitalism – Economic dominance of digital platforms that mediate between service providers and users
- Disaster Capitalism – Exploiting crisis situations to implement free-market policies (coined by Naomi Klein)
- Casino Capitalism – Speculative financial practices with little connection to productive economy
- Welfare Capitalism – Strong social safety nets coexisting with market economies (Nordic countries’ models)
- Inclusive Capitalism – Attempting to address inequality while preserving market structures
- Turbo-capitalism – Extremely accelerated, deregulated form of capitalism
- Laissez-faire Capitalism – Minimal government intervention in markets
- Green Capitalism – Market-based approaches to environmental issues
- Digital Capitalism – Economic model centered on digital technologies and networks
- Venture Capitalism – Economy driven by high-risk investments in potential high-growth startups
- Monopoly Capitalism – Economy dominated by large monopolistic corporations
- Patrimonial Capitalism – System where inherited wealth plays dominant role (highlighted by Thomas Piketty)
- Philanthrocapitalism – Using business methods to solve social problems through charitable giving
- Zombie Capitalism – Focused on failing businesses kept artificially alive through various supports
I am sure there are a few more that I certainly would have missed out on but what I didn’t want to miss out on is the New Kid On The Block: Equilibrium Capitalism.
A friend of mine gives me the hibby jibbies: watching her schedule her ‘spontaneous me-time‘ between Zoom calls while simultaneously ordering groceries and listening to a mindfulness podcast felt like watching someone perform surgery while riding a unicycle.
Our obsession with balance has become totally unbalanced. The metrics madness has taken over Planet Earth from the looks of it- screen time, steps, gratitude moments, sleep, meditation minutes, calorie intake, hydration etc etc. Life’s dashboard has about 17 pie charts and soon we would need another pie-chart to measure our obsession with pie-charts.
Balance: The fastest route to forgettable -Nobody remembers the guy who played it safe. Nobody celebrates the brand that kind of took a risk. The world worships those who went all in, flipped the table, and broke the game.Would you rather be the Steve Jobs who obsessed over fonts, fired his own team, and came back from the dead to make Apple a trillion-dollar monster… or the “balanced” CEO of Nokia? (Wait, what was his name again?).
This is not a lie! The best stuff in life is 100% unbalanced. Great food? It’s 90% fat, salt, and sin. Great art? Made by sleep-deprived maniacs ignoring the real world. Great love? Messy, intense, and absolutely not balanced. You think Elon Musk is getting 8 hours of sleep, meditating, and sipping green tea? Nah, he’s sleeping in a factory, launching rockets, and breaking Twitter for fun.
Balance is for yoga. Boldness is for game-changers. Listen, if you’re a gymnast, by all means, balance away. But if you’re trying to build something legendary—a career, a business, a legacy—moderation will bury you. The world isn’t changed by the well-balanced. It’s shaped by the unapologetically obsessed.
Welcome to the social media balance illusion– TIE: The Instagram Effect. The pressure to go public with our balance achievements. Because in the vast ocean of social media real estate, there is just no room for vulnerability and anything even remotely less than super perfect. ” Sarah’s(fictional character) Instagram feed is is a masterclass in balance theater—morning yoga by the window, perfectly arranged desk salad, evening book with artisanal tea. What you don’t see is the 47 takes, the deadline panic, and the UberEats wrapper hidden just out of frame.”
Balance is overrated. Period. Here’s the thing:Life isn’t a tightrope; it’s a rollercoaster. Some days you’ll be on top of the world, and other days you’ll be hanging upside down, wondering how you got there. And that’s the beauty of it. Richard Branson once said, “Entrepreneurs don’t retire; they just find new ways to stay busy.” Balance? Nah. Passion, purpose, and a little bit of chaos? Absolutely.
Guilt is the silent killer of balance. You feel guilty for working too much, then guilty for not working enough. You feel guilty for taking time for yourself, then guilty for neglecting others. Newsflash: guilt doesn’t help. It just makes you bad at everything. You take a day off to relax, but instead of enjoying it, you’re haunted by the ghost of unfinished tasks. Spoiler alert: the world won’t end if you take a break. In fact, you’ll probably come back more productive.
The balancing act is a lie. The idea of balance implies that everything gets equal attention. But let’s get real: life is not a perfectly measured recipe. It’s more like a chaotic potluck where someone brought a questionable casserole, and you’re just trying to avoid it. For eg you decide to hit the gym after work, but then your boss schedules a last-minute meeting. Your “balance” just got tipped faster than a Jenga tower in an earthquake.
Balance is like a unicorn—everyone talks about it, but no one has actually seen it. We chase it, we Instagram it, we even pretend to have it. But let’s be honest, balance is less of a state of being and more of a circus act where you’re juggling flaming swords while riding a unicycle on a tightrope. And just when you think you’ve nailed it, life throws a banana peel on your tightrope. Splat!
So, what’s it gonna be? You still trying to find your work-life balance—or are you finally ready to tilt the damn world in your favor? Balance is a myth, but chaos is a masterpiece. Let’s paint outside the lines.
Balancing Act aka The art of appearing balanced while quietly drowning !Because at the end of the day, the most interesting lives, brands, and ideas weren’t sculpted by balance. They were sculpted by audacity.
So, are you still playing it safe—or ready to make your own rules?