1 index 1 INDEX Methodology4 Findings22 Observations54 Introduction There’s a lot that can be said for mastering the balancing act of keeping life on an even keel. Be that making enough time for your significant others, drinking as much kombu- cha as you suggest on Instagram, or just en- suring you’ve got enough in the bank to keep you going till the end of the month. Living a wholesome life in 2019 sure ain’t easy. Lately, we’ve been fascinated by the idea of equilibrium, so we’ve been asking you how you manage to stay afloat in a society where you always have to be on. The follow- ing report contains all our findings, made in collaboration with The Akin: a global collective of insight, strategy and creative consultants. All the stats come from you and industry experts, sprinkled with our own little take on living harmoniously. I Method—The Balance Manifesto 6 ology Our Audience 8 The Interviewees 10 The Experts 12 Defining balance 14 about balance, before we jumped in the deep end. deep inthe jumped we balance, before about assumed we what at alook us.Take to unique are others whereas truths, be seem universal to things some tion, reflec On ourselves. for it define tried to of balance, we meaning the discover to departed aquest on we Before Introduction In today’s world of extremes, balance is damn hard to come by. Balance When our attention is pulled this way and that, it’s easy to feel out of line. But before we go chasing that lovely equilibrium, let’s first get familiar - with it. So, what is balance? Balance is a special kind of personal harmony. For us, it requires a healthy dose of self-awareness. It’s feeling in control, without controlling things. 7 Manifesto It’s being able to say no, but not shying away from the world. It’s a night out that doesn’t make you throw up in bed all the next day. It’s work and it’s play. It’s both letting go and holding on. It comes naturally, but you’ve got to make it happen. Your body needs it. Nature’s already got it. But for how much longer? For the next couple of months, we’re going to explore balance through many different lenses. Stay tuned, maybe we’ll both learn a trick or two. We asked you to tell us what your definition of balance is and how it impacts your life. We were blown away by the response: 1,886 people from 8 countries let us pick their Age brains. And, 76% already own a pair of Ace & Tate glasses. Thanks, guys 18-29 : 49% Country Ireland 30-39 : 26% United Kingdom Germany 40+ : 25% Sweden Top 5 Professions Denmark 20% 11% Creative / Design Student The Netherlands Belgium Austria 10% 9% Unemployed Media / Advertising Our 9% Audience 8 Technology To get a bit more in-depth, we selected a guy and a girl from each of the 8 participating countries and conducted long-form interviews with them. Those selected are part of The Akin’s network; early adopters of technology and lifestyle trends, they have a progressive attitude to identi- 11 Jeroen ty, politics and society. Brussels, BE They are all highly engaged with current cul- Robert ture and have contemporary work/social lives. We asked them to speak a little more about their personal experi- Stockholm, SWE ences with balance, particularly within their cultural set- ting. Big gratitude to those below for being so open and sharing their wisdom with us: Kazim Lauren The Berlin, DE Folkestone, UK GeorgeDublin, IRE Doan Interviewees Frankfurt, DE Copenhagen, DK Doug Joris Calum Amsterdam, NL London, UK Shinta Jenny Utrecht, NL Oliver Stockholm, SWE Vienna, AUS Maja Christine Copenhagen, DK Anna Mödling, AUS Dublin, IRE Colline Brussels, BE INTERVIEWEES Quantitative results are great, but we also needed to get some qualitative feedback from professionals to put it all into perspective. We spoke with leaders in technolo- gy, science, trend forecasting and healthcare, to get their views on things. Pretty legit stuff. 13 Karen Rosenkranz AUTHOR OF CITY QUITTERS AND TREND FORECASTER Karen began writing City Quitters after bearing witness The Experts to countless friends leaving their urban lives for more ru- ral settings, which was alien to her. They weren’t doing it for traditional reasons, such as to start a family or to have a bigger house, but as a tactic to sustain their health and enjoy a slower pace of life. The big move was about Andres Colmenares protecting their work and creativity from a sea of homo- STRATEGIC FORESIGHT CONSULTANT geneity, often encountered in modern cities. Andres is the founder of Internet Age Media (IAM) and the annual technology festival, IAM Weekend, hosted in Barcelona. IAM is a platform for understanding the fu- ture of culture and media in the internet age. His daily job is to investigate the rather daunting question; what is the internet? eren Sebastiaan van Zom LIFE COACH Sebastiaan is a life coach based in Amsterdam, who specialises in social issues. Working for the police force, Julia Herzog a lot of his work involves supporting sufferers of PTSD. PSYCHOLOGIST He also runs a private practice that focuses on 18-24-year- olds. Sebastiaan’s aim is to help people find perspective Julia specialises in RG experimental psychopathology. and to create manageable plans for longterm change. What’s that, you ask? RG focuses on the investigation of disturbing mechanisms in stress-related disorders, such as Borderline Personality Disorder and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She aims to identify mechanisms of emotional dysregulation (poorly modulated emotion- al responses), as well as the influence of stress and trau- ma on cognitive functions. THE EXPERTS 12 So, we started with the mammoth task of trying to define what balance actually is. After a short while, we figured How often do you think out it wasn’t going to be as simple as we first imagined. It was assuring to hear that balance is some- about balance? thing you consider relevant. 93% of you said that feeling levelled is important to you. We kind of had a feeling that it would be. In today’s world of inescapable, 24/7 media, it’s hard to see the wood for the trees. Navigating the snow- balling conversations about well-being, and industries that have been born from this trend, is almost impossible. What we wanted to know is: what really makes you feel good? What make you feel not so good? And how much control do you have over both? 32% Is treading the tightrope of life the path to nirvana? What we didn’t realise is how much balance plays 29% on your mind. 26% of you said balance is something you think about all the time. It must be exhausting. 9% 4% Defining 26% Balance All the time Once a month Occasionally Never Once a week 14 DEFINING BALANCE What words and feelings do you The most common environmental most associate with balance? triggers that cause imbalance? Stress Lack of sleep Healthy Happiness Stability Self-awareness Harmony Calm Lack of self-care Less stress Overworking Lack of exercise Unhappiness Money issues 51% 54% 60% 50% 56% 49% 53% 71% 62% 50% 47% 47% 45% 44% DEFINING BALANCE DEFINING BALANCE ACE & TATE : 19 Define balance for us. A concept ”It’s a moment, a sense of stillness and peace. You have to want to find balance - it is within you. Balance is easy to intellectualise but, the reality is, it’s a struggle to do it.” Some consider balance to be a concept, while — JENNY, STOCKHOLM others describe it as a feeling. Context can also change its meaning. Either way, its interpreta- tion is highly personal. YOU: I can't! DEFINING BALANCE No matter how we describe it, it seems that bal- ance is something we’re all actively looking for. It’s human nature. “Balance will always call you. We are compelled to find it. It is in our nature, in our every strand of A feeling DNA. Every part of us has a counter. It is the harmony of life.” ”For me, it’s a personal feeling, when my life is a mix of everything in equal measures.” — Sebastiaan van Zomeren — CHRISTINE, MÖDLING LIFE COACH We compiled a lot of information in our investigation. After sifting through everything, we pinpointed five insights that most of us seem to have in common. It’s a lot of informa- tion, which can seem a bit overwhelming, but we hope you’ll recognise some personal strug- gles in the following pages. More importantly, we just want you to know you’re not in it alone. Don’t miss our tips at the end of each insight, to DEFINING BALANCE 20 help you gain a bit of stability back. II OurFindings The PRESSURE for PROGRESS 24 LOOKING OUT for NUMBER ONE30 SCREEN itALL BEFORE36 COMFORTain’t COOL 42 TheHEALING POWER of NATURE 48 Insight One . e 72% of c us n s a a l y a st b r n e u s f s o se is au the biggest c THE PRESSURE FOR PROGRESS Perhaps not surprising to hear, but it seems we’re all a lit- tle bit stressed. We’re very, very busy people these days, leading intense lives that are often dictated by our ca- reers. Maybe we thrive on the adrenaline? A whopping 93% of us agreed that we live in a cult of busyness.