On Friday, September 7 in Burlington, Vermont, I presented an address to the Governor's Conference on Physical Fitness and Sports. I began the presentation by asking the audience two sets of questions. The first set of queries probed concepts, ideas and terms I opposed and would be discouraging in my remarks; the second set of questions explored positions that I planned to support in the talk.

The first set included the following topics. Separately, I asked for a show of hands as to who was in favor of:
* Being normal?
* Moderation?
* Spirituality?
* Middle age?
* Risk reduction/illness avoidance?
* Balance?

After the sixth instance of the showing of hands, I confessed that I would try to discourage all of those aspects in favor of other ideas. Then I asked, "Who favors the following?"

* Being an athlete?
* Engaging in competitions?
* Seeking epic lives?
* The quest for added meaning and purpose?
* A pursuit of heroic acts?
* Indulging in passions?

One of my objectives, of course, was audience involvement. I assume people would rather participate, be active and feel a part of the process rather than being passive listeners, especially if expected to sit through a long (one hour) presentation. I think audiences want to relate to a speaker and his message, to sense that his remarks will connect with things that are important to them. I thought it a good bet that all of the topics mentioned were important to that audience in Burlington. Of course, another objective was to bring humor and surprise to the lecture! (I'd like to think that the examples I used to explain my opposition to or support for one topic or another served this purpose.) However, the most important objective in asking these questions was to signal my positions and ideas about what matters most when shaping and sustaining a wellness lifestyle. Thus, I used the questioning period to call attention to 12 provocative issues to be addressed in the slide show that would follow this introduction.

In summary, I choose questions about these particular topics because I believe most people welcome a fresh perspective. The first set of questions hinted that I would take unusual, unexpected and controversial positions on topics most probably thought were beyond question, like Motherhood and the flag. I was letting them know I was AGAINST things they probably took for granted as good things. The second set of questions had the same effect, or were intended to, except in this case I was signaling my SUPPORT for unusual positions or points of view about a wellness lifestyle they either thought were NOT so good, or about which they would be curious.

At some point, I'll write about the other eleven topics in separate essays. For today, I want to focus on just one, a topic from the first set of questions, namely, balance.

What is there not to like about balance? After all, is balance not the ideal of a healthy life? Do we not all seek just the right division of our energies between work and play, family and career and all the rest? I have been to hundreds of conferences in more than twenty years of promoting wellness and I can assure you that almost everyone sings the praises of finding balance. Speakers urge balance between work and play, a balanced approach to all dimensions of wellness, a balanced set of goals, a balance between the quest for success and all manner of other worthy priorities in life, including family, the inner life (by various names), service to others, devotion to country, support for causes and on and on. The problem with all of this is twofold: One-nobody has any idea, it seems, about what a proper balance IS and how to achieve or maintain it; and Two-there is no evidence that it is possible or even desirable. The latter depends on many things including, of course, how balance is defined and assessed!

Balance is too ephemeral to hold up as an ideal. It is probably impossible to "balance" your mastery of and attention to the three domains of wellness at all times or anytime, for that matter. Has the Palm Pilot, the Day Planner or other gizmo been invented that would enable a wellness seeker to monitor his or her balance level at any given time of day, week, month or year? Balance, in other words, is a phantom, a bogeyman. Furthermore, it sounds suspiciously like a plea for the kind of moderation that leads to if not represents mediocrity, a too-common lifestyle pattern seen in perpetual struggles not to rock the boat, reach too high or venture too far from the middle or norm.

Balance is boring, dull, plain and a recipe for ordinariness. There is too much going on in our lives to permit anyone to balance all the key factors that affect our health, sense of community and our constitutional right to pursue happiness.

Finally, who shall determine the appropriate weights to apply in constructing a scale for creating balance? Who could possibly do this, or want to do it, save yourself.

Anyway, that's my take on the health education sacrament of balance. I suggest you forget balance. Choose selective quests for excellence, which almost always require a devoted focus on one or more skill areas for a period of time. After achieving a goal worthy of your capabilities, then you can attend to other areas that were temporarily and consciously set aside.

That is the case against balance that I presented to the good folks in Burlington. What do you think of this idea? How do you feel about balance, especially in the context of the quest for excellence? I'm always delighted to hear from you-whether in cyberspace, Vermont or anywhere else. I have found feedback to be the true breakfast of champions, more so than any breakfast cereal.

Be well, have fun, seek your passions and, of course, look on the bright side of life.

DONALD B. ARDELL, PhD

Author of the landmark High Level Wellness and nine other books, publisher of the WELLNESS REPORT and director of the Wellness Center website. Don “walks his talk” throughout the world, as he spreads the message of wellness and peak performance with creativity, humor and style. His audiences discover how 14 wellness principles contribute to performance, satisfaction and a quality life, more so than ever in hard times.