The Myth of Balance: You’re Supposed to Be Tired

🕒 Read time: 3 minutes

Welcome to The Pressure Zone, a weekly newsletter with tools and mental models for those who play life on hard mode.

Today’s Zone Brief

Forget daily balance, it’s a myth. Today, we are unpacking why you’re supposed to be tired, how to know when you’re in a sprint season, and what it really means to live in alignment. Plus: the dimmer switch model that frees you from the guilt of doing it all at once.

Why The Pressure Zone?

One of my friends who reads this newsletter recently asked me why I named it The Pressure Zone.

The short answer? That’s where the change happens.

The name was inspired by my scuba diving adventures, where the pressure is literal. Go deep and everything changes. Even the gases that sustain life at the surface can become toxic under pressure. There is less margin of error. You must be sharp, prepared, and adaptable to survive.

Life is no different. There are pressure zones in all aspects of our lives, whether you are pitching a new client, pushing through that last set in the gym, or having a tough conversation with your partner.

If you are like me, intentional about growth and aiming to be in the top 1% (not talking about money), then this newsletter is for you.

I write about the things I love: diving, music, fitness, entrepreneurship. But more importantly, I write about how these high-pressure pursuits translate into everyday performance.

My goal is to turn the tools I have acquired along the way into practical frameworks to stay calm under pressure, eliminate distractions, and become great at what you do.

If that resonates, drop me a line. I’d love to hear why you subscribed.

Framework: The Myth of Balance

Lately, I’ve been tired.

Tight deadlines, growing my team, pitching new clients, traveling nonstop, and pursuing personal side quests like buying a house and rehearsing for live shows meant that I had little time to relax.

But today's culture, led by Instagram influencers and wellness gurus, insists that we must achieve a perfect daily balance between work and rest. According to them, if you’re tired, you are doing something wrong.

I’ve noticed that this obsession with balance creates guilt whenever I feel tired, stretched, or behind, as if I’ve failed at life.

Let me be blunt. I’ve never met a top-tier founder, athlete, or creative who found “balance” in the middle of their climb. To me, anything worth building requires a period of healthy tunnel vision.

Now, now, don’t cancel me for that. I’m not advocating for 20-hour workdays and abandoning emotional and physical self-care.

I’m simply suggesting that balance is not something you maintain evenly every day. It’s a pendulum.

You cannot give 100% to every domain of your life, every single day. And that’s okay.

In my recent state of busyness, workouts vanished from my calendar. I don’t love it, but I’m not panicking. I know it’ll come back.

Instead of chasing balance every day, zoom out. Look at the seasons of your life.

Some seasons require everything you’ve got.

Sprint seasons: These are high-stakes, high-effort periods of your life. Building a company, studying for exams, taking care of a newborn, rehearsing for a show, closing year-end deals, etc.

Maintenance seasons: This is the time for you to recover, reflect, reconnect, and recalibrate.

If it’s seasonal, intentional, and mission-driven, you are far less likely to burn out. The real danger is staying in one season too long.

Sahil Bloom offers a useful mental model: Life isn’t a balancing act; it’s a series of dimmer switches.

You can’t keep every light in your life at 100% brightness all the time. But you can adjust the intensity of different areas based on what matters most right now:

Maybe work is at 90%, fitness at 50%.

Family at 80%, money at 40%.

You control the dimmers. That’s not failure. It’s strategy.

So if you’re feeling tired, don’t guilt yourself. You might just be in a sprint.

The goal isn’t balance. It’s alignment.

Sprint. Recover. Repeat.

The Pressure Test

Ask yourself: Which dimmer switch in your life needs to be turned down right now, and which one deserves full brightness for this season?

I’d love to know how this newsletter is landing. What part of this week’s mental rep stuck with you, or what would you want me to explore more deeply next time?

Just hit reply. I read and respond to every message, and your feedback shapes the next issue.

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