WA AVA President’s Update – The Balance is Real

“The balance is real” — a phrase I’ve found myself coming back to often lately. Not because balance is easy, or even consistently achievable, but because the constant effort to find it is something many of us in the veterinary profession understand all too well.

As we head into the middle of the year, I find myself reflecting on a particularly full season of life. My Pilbara based mobile veterinary business is approaching its first birthday this July — a milestone that brings both pride and perspective. Building something from the ground up has been incredibly rewarding, but it also comes with the realities of long days, decision fatigue, and the ever-present challenge of switching off.

Layer onto that school holidays, young children at home, solo parenting, and the idea of “balance” can feel more like a moving target than a destination. Some days run smoothly; others are a patchwork of competing priorities, quick pivots, and recalibrations. And yet, somehow, it is working — not perfectly, but realistically.

In what could reasonably be described as a classic mid-life moment, the first half of this year saw me sign up for a couple of endurance events: Rotto swim, which was unfortunately cancelled due to atrocious weather conditions, the Port to Pub swim and just this weekend the Busselton 100. Training has become another exercise in balance — carving out time early in the morning or late in the evening, often fitting it around clinical work and family commitments. It’s not always graceful, but it is grounding. There’s something valuable in setting a goal completely separate from work — something that challenges you physically and mentally in a different way.

What this period has reinforced for me is that balance doesn’t mean everything is evenly distributed. It means being present where you are, accepting that priorities will shift, and recognising that sometimes “good enough” is exactly that — enough.

As a profession, we often hold ourselves to high standards, both clinically and personally. But perhaps part of sustaining a long and fulfilling career is acknowledging that life outside of veterinary medicine matters just as much as the work we do within it.

So wherever this update finds you — in a busy clinic, on call, at home with family, or carving out a moment for yourself — I hope you’re finding your own version of balance. Not perfect, but real.