September 11, 2025 • 12 mins
Ever feel like you're constantly chasing that elusive sense of "balance" in your life? You're not alone. The struggle to find a flow between work, family, and personal well-being is real.
But what if our entire approach is flawed? In this episode, we are going to challenge the status quo and try on a new approach that balance isn't something you find—it's something you create from within through alignment.
Get ready for some practical strategies that you can put into place right away.
The world doesn’t need you chasing someone else’s version of balance. It needs you grounded, aligned, and showing up as the best version of you.
And the very best part - Alignment allows you to enjoy the feeling of balance even when life is crazy and out of balance.
Learn more about Carla:
Website: https:/www.carlareeves.com/
Connect on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reevescarla/
Connect on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@differentlythepodcast
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Book a Complimentary Strategy Call with Carla: https://bookme.name/carlareeves/strategycall
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Do you find yourself thinking you need more balance
in your life, more balancebetween work and home, between
what drains you and what givesyou energy?
Most people I talk to tell methey want more balance.
But here's the truth.
I'm finding Balance isn'tsomething you find.
Balance is an inside job, andmaybe what you really want isn't
(00:26):
balance at all, it's alignment.
A deep change in the way thatwe live requires a deep change
in the way that we think.
I'm Carla Reeves and this isDifferently.
Hey, it's Carla.
I'm so glad you're here.
I'm so glad that you pressedplay today, because I know there
(00:49):
are days when life feels like alot, and my hope is that this
time together feels like a big,deep breath and gives you a new
perspective that you can carryright into your day.
I was on a call this week withmom business owners.
Some had babies right in thethick of parenting, even had
their babies right on the call.
(01:10):
I could see their smiling faces.
That was so fun.
Others had middle school agekids and then a few of us had
grown children and had emptynest.
The conversation was aboutplanning your ideal week and
what it stunned me was that,regardless of where we were in
age and stage, there was still astruggle in managing our time.
(01:34):
Whether we had little or plentyof it, it didn't matter.
This should stun you too, Ihope.
And what it showed me was thisthat what if it's not a time or
balance problem, but more of athinking problem, a choice
problem and a clarity issue?
And what if the excuse aroundtime is really just that?
(01:59):
But where we have more power isin our approach and our choices
of how we spend our time.
And I want to remind you that,whatever season you find
yourself in, remember you don'thave to just survive it.
You can take part in creatingit.
And today we're going to talkabout balance and alignment and
(02:23):
why chasing this quest forbalance the way the world
teaches it, might be setting usup to fail.
There have been seasons in mylife where I have strived so
hard for balance and I, you know, under the illusion or belief
that if I could just get mycalendar right, if I could just
(02:43):
get my priorities lined up, if Icould just have my calendar
right, if I could just get mypriorities lined up, if I could
just have the right systems andschedule and workflow, that my
time, I could get it undercontrol and manage it, just so,
and finally feel effective andproductive and fulfilled.
Doesn't that sound great?
I still fall under thisillusion.
(03:04):
I want you to know I slip intothis trap.
In fact, I did it again justthis week, thinking that if I
can just get my work blocksright, then that's going to
happen.
So here's what I believe is thatit's an ongoing creation and we
have to be willing, in thedifferent seasons of our life,
to be adaptable, to be creative,to set this up in a way that
(03:27):
works for us, instead of chasingwhat works for someone else to
find again that it doesn't workfor us.
Here's what I want you toconsider is that balance isn't
something we find in ourschedule?
Is that balance isn't somethingwe find in our schedule?
(03:49):
It's something we create insideof ourself through alignment.
Okay, so the common belief isthat balance is more of like a
time issue and we get the timething figured out.
We're going to have balance.
But when people say they wantmore balance, or when I have a
client who is trying to createmore balance in their life,
here's what I hear underneathI've lost control of how I spend
(04:11):
my time, or I feel at the mercyof my circumstances and the
demands of people around me.
Here's the thing it sounds likea time or productivity problem,
but more time, better systemsor squeezing more in the day
rarely fixes the problem.
The work harder, do more, getbetter, get efficient strategy
(04:37):
just keeps us spinning and thevery quest for balance leaves us
unfulfilled, because we seldomfind ourselves in a place where
our personal life, our personalwell-being, our professional
life, our family, our kids, arein perfect balance.
I mean just even as I say that,it becomes more clear to me
(04:58):
like, oh my gosh, we're, we'reon this quest.
That is literally impossiblewhen all those things are going
to line up just so.
The real solution is inside.
It's not about perfectlysplitting your energy or your
time between work and life andkids and home.
It's about alignment, andalignment the way I like to
(05:23):
think about it.
It's about bringing yourthoughts, your actions and your
desires into harmony.
Most people, through my workcoaching individuals, they're
trying to change their lives bystarting with their actions,
getting new habits, newschedules, new routines.
(05:43):
But here's the thing if thethinking behind those actions
don't change, the old beliefsand patterns eventually pull
them back.
So when you hear me say, likeyou know, people struggle with
and I've struggled with, youknow, feeling at the mercy of my
circumstances or the peoplearound me.
Getting systems right, gettingyour time right, getting your
(06:05):
schedule right isn't going tosolve that, because there's
something that has you settingeverything aside.
You know cowering to thedemands of others, feeling
pulled in a zillion directions,not being clear about what you
own want you actually want,because you're so busy pleasing
everyone around you.
There's so many things in there.
(06:27):
True alignment begins in yourthought life, and when your
thinking supports the changethat we want to make, then our
actions can flow naturally andsustainably.
And alignment means that whoyou are on the inside, those
invisible things like yourbeliefs, your thoughts, the way
you talk to yourself, whereyou've got your eyes set, a
(06:51):
vision or an outcome.
When those things line up withwhat you want to actually create
in your life, when those thingsclick into place, the change
doesn't feel so forced or sohard, because it more becomes
who you are.
I want to give you somepractical takeaways because I
know that can feel sometimeslofty and intangible, but it's
(07:12):
not so.
Here are some a few ways thatyou can begin to create internal
alignment.
The first one is to upgrade yourthinking.
So notice, when your thoughtssound like I never have enough
time or I'm so busy or I'm nevergoing to catch up, the more you
perpetuate this and I used todo this, use these phrases
(07:37):
myself a lot and I've literallyremoved the word busy from my
vocabulary because your wordscreate your world.
Busy from my vocabulary becauseyour words create your world.
So the more you affirm this,the more it feels true.
The more you feel behind, themore you're never going to catch
up.
So upgrade your thinking everso slightly.
I'm not saying make it to apoint where it's not believable,
(07:58):
but trade it up like one rungon a ladder and then inch your
way up over time.
Like one rung on a ladder andthen inch your way up over time.
Number two shift your focus.
Instead of obsessing orfocusing on what you don't have
the time you don't have what'smissing, focus on what you want
to create.
So instead of like thinkinglike oh my gosh, how am I going
(08:19):
to manage everything today?
I don't have enough time, thinkwhat do I want to create today
and what what's within my powerto to do.
That will set me up for success.
It doesn't mean it's going tohappen, but if you intend for it
, you're more likely to achieveit.
Number three think of doingdifferent instead of doing more.
(08:43):
And this is where you want tonotice, um, all kind of look for
like are there any outdatedrules or habits?
Where am I wasting my time?
Maybe there's things I'vecommitted to that are expired,
that I need to let go of?
Um, ask yourself what could Istop doing that would free space
up for what matters?
(09:04):
Ask yourself, what could I stopdoing that would free space up
for what matters?
I had a client who wanted morespaciousness in her life and she
just thought, kind of likewe've been talking about, she
had to have more time or theperfect schedule, or have her
team, you know, delegating moreto her team in order to have
that spaciousness.
And what I asked her was whatdo you want to feel more today?
(09:25):
What would have you feel likeyou have more time?
And that's when she came upwith the word I want to feel
more spacious and I said, well,what can you do today that would
have you feel that way?
And then she started reportingback like I actually do have
spaciousness.
Or today I laid on the couchand just read a book for 15
minutes and that made me feellike I have space in my life.
(09:48):
So it's not always quantity, itmight be quality, and it's
simple things that can actuallyhave you start feeling more
balance, more space in your life, starting now instead of
waiting for someday.
And the last one invent a newgame.
So I love this one.
We're all playing some kind ofgame that we subscribe to, maybe
(10:11):
unconsciously, but really thinkabout what game are you playing
and what if you could invent anew game?
How do you get to win in thisgame?
A lot of times, there's no wayto win in the games that we
create for ourselves or therules that we create.
So what new approach could youtry on that would actually have
you experience alignment in yourday?
(10:35):
Experience, create balance inyour day, today, in this moment,
even in a season that feelsunbalanced.
So maybe, in closing, the realquestion isn't how do we find
balance.
Maybe the question is how do Icreate balance or how do I
(10:55):
create alignment inside so I canthrive in any season?
The world doesn't need uschasing someone else's version
of balance.
It needs you and me, groundedand aligned and showing up as
the best we have today for ourfamily, for our work, for our
(11:16):
marriage, and the very best partis that alignment allows you to
enjoy the feeling of balanceeven when life is crazy and out
of balance.
I'm Carla Reeves and this isDifferently.
Thank you for listening todayand I hope this just brought a
pause into your life and a newperspective that you can take
(11:39):
right into your day.
Remember, this podcast isn'tjust about listening.
You can actually talk back.
I want you to hit that buttonthat says send Carla a message
and send me a question.
You have something lingeringfrom this conversation or your
most favorite takeaway?
I would love to hear from you.
(12:01):
Thank you for making it all theway to the end and thank you
for listening to differently.
If you enjoyed this episode,will you please go leave a five
star review and share it withsomeone you love.
Goodbye for now.
I'll see you next week.
Do you find yourself thinking you need more balance
in your life, more balancebetween work and home, between
what drains you and what givesyou energy?
Most people I talk to tell methey want more balance.
But here's the truth.
I'm finding Balance isn'tsomething you find.
Balance is an inside job, andmaybe what you really want isn't
(00:26):
balance at all, it's alignment.
A deep change in the way thatwe live requires a deep change
in the way that we think.
I'm Carla Reeves and this isDifferently.
Hey, it's Carla.
I'm so glad you're here.
I'm so glad that you pressedplay today, because I know there
(00:49):
are days when life feels like alot, and my hope is that this
time together feels like a big,deep breath and gives you a new
perspective that you can carryright into your day.
I was on a call this week withmom business owners.
Some had babies right in thethick of parenting, even had
their babies right on the call.
(01:10):
I could see their smiling faces.
That was so fun.
Others had middle school agekids and then a few of us had
grown children and had emptynest.
The conversation was aboutplanning your ideal week and
what it stunned me was that,regardless of where we were in
age and stage, there was still astruggle in managing our time.
(01:34):
Whether we had little or plentyof it, it didn't matter.
This should stun you too, Ihope.
And what it showed me was thisthat what if it's not a time or
balance problem, but more of athinking problem, a choice
problem and a clarity issue?
And what if the excuse aroundtime is really just that?
(01:59):
But where we have more power isin our approach and our choices
of how we spend our time.
And I want to remind you that,whatever season you find
yourself in, remember you don'thave to just survive it.
You can take part in creatingit.
And today we're going to talkabout balance and alignment and
(02:23):
why chasing this quest forbalance the way the world
teaches it, might be setting usup to fail.
There have been seasons in mylife where I have strived so
hard for balance and I, you know, under the illusion or belief
that if I could just get mycalendar right, if I could just
(02:43):
get my priorities lined up, if Icould just have my calendar
right, if I could just get mypriorities lined up, if I could
just have the right systems andschedule and workflow, that my
time, I could get it undercontrol and manage it, just so,
and finally feel effective andproductive and fulfilled.
Doesn't that sound great?
I still fall under thisillusion.
(03:04):
I want you to know I slip intothis trap.
In fact, I did it again justthis week, thinking that if I
can just get my work blocksright, then that's going to
happen.
So here's what I believe is thatit's an ongoing creation and we
have to be willing, in thedifferent seasons of our life,
to be adaptable, to be creative,to set this up in a way that
(03:27):
works for us, instead of chasingwhat works for someone else to
find again that it doesn't workfor us.
Here's what I want you toconsider is that balance isn't
something we find in ourschedule?
Is that balance isn't somethingwe find in our schedule?
(03:49):
It's something we create insideof ourself through alignment.
Okay, so the common belief isthat balance is more of like a
time issue and we get the timething figured out.
We're going to have balance.
But when people say they wantmore balance, or when I have a
client who is trying to createmore balance in their life,
here's what I hear underneathI've lost control of how I spend
(04:11):
my time, or I feel at the mercyof my circumstances and the
demands of people around me.
Here's the thing it sounds likea time or productivity problem,
but more time, better systemsor squeezing more in the day
rarely fixes the problem.
The work harder, do more, getbetter, get efficient strategy
(04:37):
just keeps us spinning and thevery quest for balance leaves us
unfulfilled, because we seldomfind ourselves in a place where
our personal life, our personalwell-being, our professional
life, our family, our kids, arein perfect balance.
I mean just even as I say that,it becomes more clear to me
(04:58):
like, oh my gosh, we're, we'reon this quest.
That is literally impossiblewhen all those things are going
to line up just so.
The real solution is inside.
It's not about perfectlysplitting your energy or your
time between work and life andkids and home.
It's about alignment, andalignment the way I like to
(05:23):
think about it.
It's about bringing yourthoughts, your actions and your
desires into harmony.
Most people, through my workcoaching individuals, they're
trying to change their lives bystarting with their actions,
getting new habits, newschedules, new routines.
(05:43):
But here's the thing if thethinking behind those actions
don't change, the old beliefsand patterns eventually pull
them back.
So when you hear me say, likeyou know, people struggle with
and I've struggled with, youknow, feeling at the mercy of my
circumstances or the peoplearound me.
Getting systems right, gettingyour time right, getting your
(06:05):
schedule right isn't going tosolve that, because there's
something that has you settingeverything aside.
You know cowering to thedemands of others, feeling
pulled in a zillion directions,not being clear about what you
own want you actually want,because you're so busy pleasing
everyone around you.
There's so many things in there.
(06:27):
True alignment begins in yourthought life, and when your
thinking supports the changethat we want to make, then our
actions can flow naturally andsustainably.
And alignment means that whoyou are on the inside, those
invisible things like yourbeliefs, your thoughts, the way
you talk to yourself, whereyou've got your eyes set, a
(06:51):
vision or an outcome.
When those things line up withwhat you want to actually create
in your life, when those thingsclick into place, the change
doesn't feel so forced or sohard, because it more becomes
who you are.
I want to give you somepractical takeaways because I
know that can feel sometimeslofty and intangible, but it's
(07:12):
not so.
Here are some a few ways thatyou can begin to create internal
alignment.
The first one is to upgrade yourthinking.
So notice, when your thoughtssound like I never have enough
time or I'm so busy or I'm nevergoing to catch up, the more you
perpetuate this and I used todo this, use these phrases
(07:37):
myself a lot and I've literallyremoved the word busy from my
vocabulary because your wordscreate your world.
Busy from my vocabulary becauseyour words create your world.
So the more you affirm this,the more it feels true.
The more you feel behind, themore you're never going to catch
up.
So upgrade your thinking everso slightly.
I'm not saying make it to apoint where it's not believable,
(07:58):
but trade it up like one rungon a ladder and then inch your
way up over time.
Like one rung on a ladder andthen inch your way up over time.
Number two shift your focus.
Instead of obsessing orfocusing on what you don't have
the time you don't have what'smissing, focus on what you want
to create.
So instead of like thinkinglike oh my gosh, how am I going
(08:19):
to manage everything today?
I don't have enough time, thinkwhat do I want to create today
and what what's within my powerto to do.
That will set me up for success.
It doesn't mean it's going tohappen, but if you intend for it
, you're more likely to achieveit.
Number three think of doingdifferent instead of doing more.
(08:43):
And this is where you want tonotice, um, all kind of look for
like are there any outdatedrules or habits?
Where am I wasting my time?
Maybe there's things I'vecommitted to that are expired,
that I need to let go of?
Um, ask yourself what could Istop doing that would free space
up for what matters?
(09:04):
Ask yourself, what could I stopdoing that would free space up
for what matters?
I had a client who wanted morespaciousness in her life and she
just thought, kind of likewe've been talking about, she
had to have more time or theperfect schedule, or have her
team, you know, delegating moreto her team in order to have
that spaciousness.
And what I asked her was whatdo you want to feel more today?
(09:25):
What would have you feel likeyou have more time?
And that's when she came upwith the word I want to feel
more spacious and I said, well,what can you do today that would
have you feel that way?
And then she started reportingback like I actually do have
spaciousness.
Or today I laid on the couchand just read a book for 15
minutes and that made me feellike I have space in my life.
(09:48):
So it's not always quantity, itmight be quality, and it's
simple things that can actuallyhave you start feeling more
balance, more space in your life, starting now instead of
waiting for someday.
And the last one invent a newgame.
So I love this one.
We're all playing some kind ofgame that we subscribe to, maybe
(10:11):
unconsciously, but really thinkabout what game are you playing
and what if you could invent anew game?
How do you get to win in thisgame?
A lot of times, there's no wayto win in the games that we
create for ourselves or therules that we create.
So what new approach could youtry on that would actually have
you experience alignment in yourday?
(10:35):
Experience, create balance inyour day, today, in this moment,
even in a season that feelsunbalanced.
So maybe, in closing, the realquestion isn't how do we find
balance.
Maybe the question is how do Icreate balance or how do I
(10:55):
create alignment inside so I canthrive in any season?
The world doesn't need uschasing someone else's version
of balance.
It needs you and me, groundedand aligned and showing up as
the best we have today for ourfamily, for our work, for our
(11:16):
marriage, and the very best partis that alignment allows you to
enjoy the feeling of balanceeven when life is crazy and out
of balance.
I'm Carla Reeves and this isDifferently.
Thank you for listening todayand I hope this just brought a
pause into your life and a newperspective that you can take
(11:39):
right into your day.
Remember, this podcast isn'tjust about listening.
You can actually talk back.
I want you to hit that buttonthat says send Carla a message
and send me a question.
You have something lingeringfrom this conversation or your
most favorite takeaway?
I would love to hear from you.
(12:01):
Thank you for making it all theway to the end and thank you
for listening to differently.
If you enjoyed this episode,will you please go leave a five
star review and share it withsomeone you love.
Goodbye for now.
I'll see you next week.
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