Trying to find that mythical lifestyle of perfect balance between work commitments and the rest of your life? This varies for everyone in terms of ‘job’ requirements and ‘life’ requirements but one thing stands out in common. Balancing the two is nigh on impossible. In fact, it genuinely is impossible to fully commit to either and thus we play an ongoing game of choosing what to sacrifice in order to pursue the other.

Yet one thing that is not the same is each individual’s experience of playing this challenging game. Why is it that some people seem to be in a constant state of stress and overwhelm whilst others manage to keep their cool and ultimately perform at a higher level and for longer periods?

The inconvenient truth is that it’s not just about the circumstances. There are people who face very similar ongoing challenges to each another and yet each person can have a totally different ‘perceived’ experience.

Understanding the importance of perception in experience is part of our approach in helping police applicants prepare for their police selection exams. However, we also look to provide insight as to how these strategies can continue to be applied during police training and ultimately a police career.

Ultimately this is a matter of both short term and long term mental health that keeps us performing at our best both on and off duty.

Whether you're a police applicant or if you’re already a serving officer and are interested in considering a different outlook on this age old question of work life balance in the force, then you can learn more about shifting to a new perspective via our free training program below.

Whilst this is not a magic bullet in terms of removing problems, the recommendations are based in proven psychological principles and also my personal experience serving on the front line. This is free information provided as part of our support to Australian Police Services and their personnel around the nation.