People have different goals and they result in a different balance between growth and fun. The more goals you have the more the balance will tip off to growth. As a student we often focus heavily on enjoying ourselves and the grades may be influenced by it. Later in life we go for a carreer and attempting to grow ourselves requires some sacrifices.
To obtain improvement time being spent on growth is important. As young adults, hopefully with less responsibilities, it seems easier to focus on the growth. The harder you work now the more you can enjoy yourself later in life. The opposite counts as well, the more you play now the harder you will work now. Despite the feeling that you may have enough years left to work you should also consider how work becomes less possible the older we become. That is why striking the balance makes it sustainable to continuee to grow.
The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live. – Mortimer Adler
When you have taken some rest or some time off for enjoyment you can dive deeper into your work or your goals of personal growth. As with studying for an exam it’s near impossible to continue to study for multiple hours at once. Growth in a certain area doesn’t occur in the first hours or weeks of effort. Only after continious effort you will enjoy the benefits. As the quote above mentions our mind can continue further and further forward. You can keep on growing it, while our body has it’s limits. Our body can be pushed harder by moving the limit, but no limits exist for our mind. Of course attempting to learn something in only one day that normally requires multiple weeks will be extremely difficult. However if you take your time you can learn anything and become better at it.
After your effort make sure to use your time for relaxation. Our mind can only succeed when it has sufficient recovery. At the same time having an imbalance between relaxation and effort will negatively impact the other one. With too much work you will burn out and no longer have anything left in your tank. On the other side with too much relaxation you will become lazy and will no longer be pushing yourself. When you feel like your balance is great, even if one has the upperhand, you will perform better. You’ll become happier if your life isn’t completely out of balance. This can be achieved by making sure that some things you work on are enjoyable. It will be on both sides of your scale.