As I'm being paid quite well by others to help define that line for them, you would think that I'd be pretty good at drawing it for myself, yet I blur it or cross it nearly every day. So I have to ask my clients not to ask me what I'm doing in training. I don't tell anybody the entire truth. Now that we've had the fitness craze and the workaholic period, the media keep hammering us with this idea of living a balanced lifestyle. Somehow there is meant to be the possibility of having enough money, fitness, personal development and leisure time, family time and social time along with the energy for it all.
Balance is about accepting less of everything to equal things out.
I've come to the conclusion that the very nature of triathlons makes it impossible to choose it as a hobby or vocation and try to lead a balanced life. It tips the scales too much toward personal fitness and fulfillment. It's too selfish an endeavor to allow for balance unless we're talking about doing 40 minutes of exercise 3-4 times a week to get ready for a few events a year. If that's your idea of triathlon, then perhaps you have found a way to make progress toward a balanced life. The rest of us aren't even close.