The Curation by Nour Hassan

Nour Solo: The Myth of Balance & Breaking the Box

• Nour Hassan • Season 12 • Episode 148

Share episode

Forget balance! I open up about what it really takes to run a multi‑hyphenate career without burning out, and why trying to give everything 100 percent all the time sets you up to fail. Our founder Nour shares how she builds her year in seasons—Pilates in summer, deep podcast work in fall, and events during fashion and art cycles—so each lane gets focused attention when it matters most.

We dig into identity, not as a box to stay in but as a compass to guide choices. Whether you vibe with Human Design, the Enneagram system, or simple self‑reflection and astrology, the goal is the same: understand where you thrive and design your days around it.

The truth: clarity plus timing strengthens your voice. You can be a Pilates instructor, a podcast host, and a creative freelancer without losing yourself—if you align your seasons and keep your systems simple.

Enjoyed the conversation? Follow and subscribe, share this episode with a friend who’s juggling roles, and leave a review to help more curious listeners find the show on Instagram and Tiktok. 

Support the show

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to The Curation, a show for the culturally curious. This is your host, Noor Hassan. Each week, I'll guide you through a curated edit of the finest in art, fashion, design, culture, luxury, wellness, tech, and more. This is your go-to space for discovering trailblazing ideas, untold stories, and meaningful conversations with innovators and creators who are shaping our world. There's no gatekeeping here, so sit back, tune in, and let's discover only the best together. Everyone is different. Not everyone likes the idea of juggling more than one thing. And it's interesting because I speak about this a lot on my stories, Tanya like Masalan, in my notes on TikTok, and all of that. Human design da haiga isn't to boss. And me in human design, I'm a manifesting generator. And it's interesting because fines they're called generators. And they don't do that. They focus on their one thing at a time. Okay? And a lot of people think this is very woo, Lynn said that fit haged di. But honestly, guys, I really think that this is such an important thing to explore. Whether through astrology, Masalan, you know, I'm a Libra. This is something but I identify with Aoi. Or Masalan, the Enneagram system, you know, what type of enneagram graph number are you? An eight, Masalan, a controller, or a person who likes to chill and follow the crowd, or what type of kind of what is your working archetype? Okay. Bas anafil episode. I have a couple of points that I'm gonna share with you on how I personally, as nood, manage to balance the different things that I've chosen to pursue in my career. I used to try to force myself into the box of like, okay, we'll make this your career and do not deviate from it. And this didn't really work for me. I felt like I was creatively decaying away. When I was Masalan working at one place where I had to go every day, and it's not about a nine to five. I'm not, you know, I'm not saying a nine to five is not a good thing, but I always say how I wish I had been the type of person that would thrive in a nine to five, but I'm just not. It's not my character. Who are you? What do you like? Where do you thrive? How do you thrive? How do you work? You know what I mean? Anakanur, I work very well under pressure. I work very well when I'm juggling more than one thing. I get not bored very easily, but I'm not going to be able to option Sharil niga vasta la aliha. And that is how I ended up building a personal brand, which is Nur Hassan. Having a podcast and community, the curation podcast, and also being a triple certified Pilates instructor in Matt Pilates Reformer, Pilates Classical and Contemporary for both, and of course, Legri. And those are three different accounts that I have on Instagram, and I do realize that it can get a bit confusing for people. But heya di shokse, I love that. Sometimes I'm in my Pilates era, and I'll get more into that. And sometimes I'm in my podcasting and I'm recording back to back for like three, four days in a row and weeks in a row editing, and that is my podcast era. Sometimes I'm hosting events and I'm going to fashion shows and art shows and just freelancing as nur. Okay. So those are the three separate things that I focus on. And I don't want to say I would add more, I hope not. But they do not thrive like this. They thrive by selecting one thing that is their thing. And they focus on it and they go for it. For example, you're a fitness trainer, that's who you are. You're not gonna go and try and do 10 different brands. And that's fine. I'm not saying anything, I'm just saying that you've asked me how I do it. So I've got a couple of notes and I'm gonna share with you guys. Okay, so the first thing is the myth of balance. Like, I wrote this down because I think it's so funny how we always try to ask everyone like, how are you balancing? How are you balancing? I saw the CEO of Pepsi Haya sit, no, but there is no such thing as balance. Like, you can essentially juggle, but balance is a very difficult word because when you're juggling, at least we acknowledge and no fee. It is not an assumption that you are perfectly just giving everything your 100%. So once you let go of the myth of balance, I found that you leave yourself creative space to focus on whatever it is you want in the moment, what needs your attention. In the summer, I'm usually focusing more on Pilates because it is more of the Pilates season, right? And then in the fall, I'm more on the podcast. And then in fashion season or art season, I'm kind of more doing my own thing, my freelance, personal branding, attending events, covering events, and doing all of that type of work. So what let letting go of the myth of balance has just liberated me so much because oh my god, I have to give every single thing my 100% all the time, and it's just not true, guys. It's just not true. So the second thing that I'm gonna, you know, share with you guys on this topic is though you need to intentionally prioritize everything. So let's say you have a very, very big event coming up, okay, for in my personal case, Pilates. That is not the week to book three recordings for the podcast, but it's all about compartmentalizing and prioritizing and understanding that life is about seasons, okay? Never trying to do it all at once, because I have tried, I've tried to teach a class and then get off the stage and host the podcast and then get off the stage and then do my event coverage, and it just doesn't work. What works is that today I am Noor the Pilates instructor, I'm here to teach the class and leave. Or I'm going to host as Nur Hassan, the event or the talk or whatever it is, and that's it. I am not involving my brand, it is not about the curation today. Or you are going to be on my podcast, so it is a full recording day. So prioritization is key. My third point is really, really important, and it's that you can wear many hats without losing your identity, you guys. I hate this concept of how, especially women, we try to put ourselves in a box. Like, who said that you cannot be more than one thing? I know that it's really difficult, and then some of you are also mothers, so you add that title to the checks mix, and you have a lot going on. But I truly, truly think that in 2026 we will have thrown away the concept of here's your box, stay inside it, do not exit. If you're a podcaster, do not exit the podcasting box. I personally credit myself as one of the people that really broke those boundaries. I was like, nope, I'm more than that. I'm not just a podcaster or a writer, I'm a Pilates instructor too, because you can learn and evolve and grow in your life. And social media makes it feel like once I coast that I'm one thing and I put it in my bio, I can never edit it. No, the edit button exists and you can use it. That's for sure. Okay, a couple of more points here. I think it's important to protect your energy, Bordu, in the sense of like understanding that you need to know what makes you thrive. So if you're the type of person that, like I said at the beginning, enjoys a nine to five and really doesn't like the idea of doing more than one thing and balancing and and all of that, then you know what? Don't let people or the internet gaslight you into thinking that that isn't thriving because it is for you. And for me personally, being an entrepreneur and having a multidisciplinary life is what makes me thrive. So we go back to the idea of doing the personal work of finding out what really makes you thrive and understanding that it's different for everyone, and that's totally okay. All right, so the th last thing is I'm gonna share with you of my creative flow. So I think for everybody, finding a like nice creative routine for your work is really important. For me personally, and about I really like to make sure that every day I start it off with a very neutral palette. That I wake up and I just don't think about anything, not the podcast, not the class I'm gonna be teaching later, not my event that I have to attend. I just start the day with a little bit of me time, whether it's early or late, or with a coffee, or with some journaling, or whatever it is. And you guys can check out my episodes that I've done on my morning routine and different types of routines. I just think that once you start off the day, set the tone of your mindset. And hard on eyes, fuck or is they either show up is they my colleagues, my clients, and whatever it is, that sets the tone for the day. A couple of things that I really like to do that help this are, like I said before, journaling for five minutes in the morning, writing down just a brain dump of everything that you have in your mind if you feel like you need it. Really important note. Waking up early at least once a week to reset your mindset and your week. Okay, planning ahead, setting up in your calendar everything that you need to do for the week. So, as someone who gets invited to many events and I have to keep track of all of that, my calendar is my biggest savior. You don't need to, you know, subscribe to complicated apps and all of this. There's no need. Put it in your calendar so that even if you wake up in the morning and you forgot, it's there. Okay. Hold yourself accountable with friends and family. Like if I say that I'm going to film a season, you know, by the end of November, then well, I have to do it. I said it. So that's really important too. And the last thing is don't be too hard on yourself. Give yourself grace and take a break if you need to, because ultimately I think this is the one thing that we all can learn more about the importance of rest and the idea that yeah, we are all different, and I can get into human design and astrology and enneagrams and all that on another episode more. But in general, that is how I balance without balancing because there is no such thing as balance. I think we're all doing our best, and the most important thing is to do what works for you. I hope this was a helpful episode, and I will see you guys on my next podcast. Thank you for listening. Make sure to follow at the curation podcast on Instagram, at Nour Hassan, and at Pilates by Nour to stay tuned on all of the content that is available, as well as the curation podcast on all podcasting platforms and the curation on TikTok.