Work, balance and when not to take yourself too seriously

I’m getting married this year. October 20th. To the most amazing, strong, successful, funny, smart and beautiful woman. In short she is the woman of my dreams. That’s not to say that she’s flawless- because we’re all human after all — but she is incredible and I’m truly grateful she said yes when I asked her to marry me.

At a fairly young age she is in charge of a portfolio of products worth 300 million dollars — which is a result of her focus, determination, dedication and discipline.

Throughout her career she’s been an exceptionally hard worker. She’s displayed vision, stood her ground when it mattered and most importantly she’s whip smart.

You might think that the person I’m describing is a stuck up bitch who would kill her mate and eat her young to get to the top.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

She is the most easy-going, down-to-earth, easy-to-get-along-with person I’ve ever met. She is open minded, speaks as easily to drunkards as to directors and she listens better than anyone I’ve ever met.

But above all she doesn’t take herself too seriously. Whether at work or at home, she will crack a joke and goof off. She’ll be serious when it matters, but she knows it matters on only a few occasions, and the rest of the time she is her goofy, happy self.

There is a certain backwards logic to this idea that in order to move forward we can’t push and pull all the time. We need to know when to take it easy, and when to enjoy ourselves. We need to know when to take ourselves seriously and when not to. You might raise your hand and say, but hey — if she took herself more seriously, she might be even more successful.

Maybe.

Maybe that’s true. But that’s less important. It has to be a sustainable outcome. It has to be viable long term. We have to keep our legs churning for the full distance.

What we do matter of course, but I believe the how is more important.

And to me the how is all about balance.