Are we over the whole balance thing yet?

I know what you’ve been told about balanced living—probably because as a magazine editor for years, I was one of the people telling you. And honestly, I’ve changed my mind about it all. Balance is static and tentative and easily upset. And a life that’s designed simply around staying upright is no kind of life at all.

Take a dancer, for instance. She uses balance to stand on her toes, spin in circles. But other things matter, too: like momentum, vision, focus, strength—as well as all the tinier steps she took to get there. That’s what I kind of think life should be about—striving for something of meaning and beauty and worth—not just a preoccupation with not falling down.

First things first: We have to stop throwing up our hands at it all and start making decisions. Small ones. Every day. And not just trying to make better ones, but being aware of the ones we make—and why. Even the bad ones. Because often we learn more from those than any others. (Read my blog, Best Decision All Day.)

I have a few opinions on what it means to live a better life.

And I’m not afraid to share them–with you, or anyone. I’ve said my piece on panels, at live events, in print, on radio, and on TV. And I’ve always been invited back.Tune in to my live, daily call-in show “Whole Living” on Sirius XM 110 Mon-Fri, 7a E/10a W (replays on weekends).

You’ve been fed a lot of bunk about what it means to live “better,” whether this is good or that is bad. We’re so busy vilifying our own and others’ choices that we forget we’re always in a position to make better ones. Every day, in fact. I’d like to bastardize that old yarn about the devil and say that the greatest trick we’ve ever played is convincing ourselves that a better life doesn’t exist.