Balancing family and work often feels like an impossible mission. Days pass too quickly, responsibilities pile up one after another, and the list of things that “must” be done seems endless. Sometimes it feels as though balance exists only in perfectly curated images on social media — smiling parents, a tidy home, a successful career. Everything else appears to be chaos.
But over this year, I’ve learned one important thing: balance is not static. It’s not a state you reach once and hold onto forever. Balance is a process — a series of small moments we gift ourselves while trying to remain present for others.
What helps me are small rituals. Morning coffee before everyone wakes up, a walk with my baby, or those thirty minutes of play before the workday begins. Sometimes I wake up a little earlier just to have ten minutes of quiet to myself. These moments feel like a luxury to me; they are the air that keeps my inner stability alive. I’ve realized how essential it is for me to “set” my day in the morning.
Setting boundaries is just as important. I’ve learned that, especially at work, it’s okay to say “no” to things that are not my responsibility. And that I don’t have to be a superwoman at home who does it all. One day there won’t be lunch — we’ll eat polenta or eggs. The next day we’ll cook. And the day after that, we’ll order in. Balance comes when we accept our own limits, choose what truly matters, and allow ourselves to ask for support — from a partner, family, friends, or colleagues.
And perhaps most importantly: sometimes balance simply doesn’t exist — and that’s okay. Some days work will demand more attention, other days family will be the absolute priority, and sometimes you’ll have to choose yourself. Accepting this fluidity takes courage. We are often expected to give 100% at all times, but that is a mission doomed to fail — it’s impossible to constantly be more than who we are.
Balance is not perfection. Think of it as a gentle dance between what we love and what we must do. These are the moments when we give ourselves care, listen to our hearts, and allow ourselves to be vulnerable and present.
Give yourself permission to seek your small moments of peace, to make mistakes, to learn. To discover that even within chaos, there is a rhythm — a rhythm only you can hear and follow. Not society. Not neighbors. Not parents. Just you.
And when you begin to listen to that rhythm, you’ll learn how to dance that dance.
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Porodica & posao: gde je ravnoteža i da li je uopšte moguća
Balans između porodice i posla često izgleda kao nemoguća misija. Dani prolaze prebrzo, obaveze se nižu jedna za drugom, a lista stvari koje „moraju“ da se završe deluje beskonačno. Ponekad imam utisak da ravnoteža postoji samo na savršeno stilizovanim fotografijama na društvenim mrežama — nasmejani roditelji, uredna kuća, uspešan posao. Sve ostalo, čini se, liči na haos.
Ali ove godine sam naučila jednu važnu stvar: ravnoteža nije statična. Ona nije stanje koje se jednom dostigne i zadrži zauvek. Ravnoteža je proces — niz malih trenutaka koje poklanjamo sebi dok se trudimo da budemo prisutni za druge.
Meni pomažu mali rituali. Jutarnja kafa pre nego što se svi probude, šetnja s bebom, ili onih 30 minuta igre pre početka radnog dana. Ponekad ustanem i malo ranije, samo da imam deset minuta tišine za sebe. Ti trenuci su za mene luksuz; oni su vazduh koji održava moju unutrašnju stabilnost. Shvatila sam koliko mi je važno da već ujutru „postavim“ svoj dan.
Jednako važno je i postavljanje granica. Naučila sam da je, naročito na poslu, u redu reći „ne“ stvarima koje nisu moja odgovornost. I da ne moram biti superžena kod kuće koja sve stiže. Jednog dana neće biti ručka — ješćemo palentu ili jaja. Sledećeg dana ćemo kuvati. A onog nakon toga ćemo naručiti. Ravnoteža dolazi onda kada prihvatimo sopstvene limite, kada izaberemo šta je zaista važno i kada dozvolimo sebi da tražimo podršku — od partnera, porodice, prijatelja ili kolega.
I možda najvažnije: ponekad ravnoteže jednostavno nema — i to je u redu. Nekada će posao zahtevati više pažnje, nekada će porodica biti apsolutni prioritet, a nekada ćete morati da izaberete sebe. Prihvatiti tu fluidnost zahteva hrabrost. Od nas se često očekuje da uvek dajemo 100%, ali to je unapred izgubljena misija — nemoguće je stalno biti više od onoga što jesmo.
Ravnoteža nije savršenstvo. Zamislite je kao nežan ples između onoga što volimo i onoga što moramo. To su trenuci u kojima sebi pružamo pažnju, slušamo svoje srce i dozvoljavamo sebi da budemo ranjivi i prisutni.
Dajte sebi dozvolu da tražite svoje male trenutke mira, da grešite, da učite. Da otkrijete kako i u haosu postoji ritam — ritam koji samo vi možete da čujete i sledite. Ne okolina. Ne komšije. Ne roditelji. Samo vi.
I kada počnete da osluškujete taj ritam, naučićete i da plešete taj ples.
Tanja's diary 🧚🏻♂️ 