Do you have balance in your life?  What does it mean to have balance?  When we are able to manage our career, our family life, and our personal life without letting any of them dominate our time – we have balance.

Think about what happens when something in your life dominates your time and your energy.  Let’s say you have a big project at work.  It requires you to work extra hours for days and weeks on end.  As a result, you are not able to attend some of your children’s events.  You might not be home in time for dinner.  You get up early in the morning and get home after the children are in bed.

Yes, that is okay in the short-term, but is out of balance if it proceeds for much length of time.  When we consciously decide that an aspect of our lives needs to dominate out time and energy, that is okay.  However, it is difficult to sustain any state of “out of balance” for a period of time.  Eventually, things must get back in “balance.”

Think of what happens when you are busy at work, and busy with your children, or family.  There is little time left for you!  In those cases, you might be covering two of the three “balance areas” we mentioned, but you are not able to take care of yourself.  Maybe you do not have the time to exercise, go to the gym, meditate, or just be by yourself to read a book.  Typically, most people tend to let their personal life slide in order to take care of their career and family.

The problem with letting our personal life “slide,” is that we eventually break down.  Either our body will start to fail us, because we haven’t been taking care of it, or our minds will be so full of thoughts we can hardly function with the stress.   Take the time to devote one-third of your time to work, one-third to family, and one-third to yourself.

You might say, there is no way I can devote one-third of my time to myself.  The kids are too young, or my job is too demanding.  That may be the case, but this sense of balance is one that you should strive to attain.  The reasons may not seem important to you, but eventually you will see what happens when you do not give yourself the time that you need to take care of yourself.

We are here to live this life for many reasons.  We might be here now to take care of the children, or a family member.  We also might be here to build something that can change the world!  However, we must not forget that we are also here for ourselves.  We need to allow ourselves to enjoy the life that we have spent so much time and energy building!

Find a way to have balance in your life.  Figure out the three areas that make sense for you.  For some it will be work, family and personal life.  For others it may be more or less areas.  However, everyone needs to include their “personal life” in their “balance pie chart.”  When we give ourselves the time and energy that we give to others, we can have the sense of well-being for which we strive!

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Having balance in your life is an important concept.  Living a balanced life allows for you to run the long marathon of life.  There are times to sprint, but those times cannot be sustained.  When we find balance, we are living a sustainable life!

Written, Tue, Oct 11, 2016 8:02 – 8:14 AM MDT