I have been talking about work-life balance since I stopped playing professional sport twenty years ago. We are juggling all these balls in life and, more often than not, we drop the glass balls and not the rubber ones.
In 1991, Bryan Dyson, ex-CEO of Coca-Cola, compared life to juggling five balls at the same time: Work, Family, Health, Friends, and Spirit. He noted that work is a rubber ball—if you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four (Health, Family, Friends, and Spirit) are glass balls, and when you drop any of them, they will never be the same.
As we head into this festive season, I would like to encourage you to have a hard stop with your work. Bryan Dyson reminds us that we need to prioritise and protect the fragile, irreplaceable parts of our life and not allow work to dominate at the expense of the four glass balls.
Why You Need the “Hard Stop”
It is so easy to fall into the trap of “let me just check my emails quickly.” It is like men saying they are only going to have one beer at the pub—it has never happened! You know very well that at least one of those 150 emails will turn your mind back to business, and as they say, the rest is history. Once you start focusing on your work, your family holiday becomes a work holiday.
Many people have to be online and available in December, but you need to allow yourself the opportunity to rest mentally and physically.
Discipline During Deceleration
Talking about physically, it is also important to look after yourself physically in December and January. Usually, we have more time in the holidays for everything: Family time, eating, drinking, training, and reading. Therefore, it is important to be disciplined in December and January.
It doesn’t help you come back from a five-week holiday and you are hungover, overweight, and not happy with yourself. The start of 2026 will be a catch-up game from day one, and there is no time for catch-up!
Fuelling the New Year
My real fuel for a busy and tough year is my family. I get time to do things with them that I can never do during the year, and that fuels me in a big way. Touring, running, cycling, and surfing with my wife and children is something that I look forward to every December. We never miss the opportunity to sit around a fire, play games, exercise, and enjoy food and wine together at the table.
My wish is that you will have the courage to have a hard stop this festive season and that when you come back in January, you will be fuelled by a wholesome holiday where you spent maximum quality time with your family. You will need a lot of discipline to take the hard stop and commit to the cause, but I have no doubt that you will be more ready than ever for 2026.
GET IN TOUCH
If you would like to get in touch with me about my key note presentation, Debunking Motivation, please send an email to corne@cornekrige.com. Visit my website to review my speaker sheet for more info. I also share my story on my social media pages on Facebook and LinkedIn.