When you think about successful people in your sphere of influence, what are some of the attributes you admire? Perhaps they seem to know exactly what they want in life or they have a great family dynamic and seem to enjoy one another. Maybe you see them going to work during the week and heading out on their boat once the weekend arrives. While these attributes seem like simple intangible movements, each one of them reflects a choice of not just the type lifestyle they desire but more importantly, a life that is intentionally balanced.
When discussing being balanced and the consequences of your choices well-known CEO of GE, Jack Welch stated, “you make them and they have consequences.†The life you choose and the places you decide to invest your energies all have consequences.
Have you ever had a time in your life where you just felt out of balance? These are the moments where we feel like we're driving on a set of flat tires but because there’s so much to be done, there’s no time to put on in the tires or change them. You may be putting in 50, 60 or even 70 hours a week, 6 and 7 days in a row in order to meet that deadline. Or you’ve committed to being at every rehearsal, PTA meeting and choir practice, when you get home, you’re too tired to spend time with your spouse.
Of course, none of these examples seem out of the ordinary and each of them is noble in themselves. But, what each of us often fails to consider, are the consequence’s of these choices and how far out of balance we can get by not caring about the other aspects of our lives. We often can feel the side effects of this lack of balance but rarely do we stop to answer the crucial question, how can I do life without neglecting other parts of myself? How can I find balance?
I've found that the best CEOs, Pastors, Housewives, School Teachers or just everyday people, are those who are always striving to establish balance in their lives. The people we most admire don’t simply have things they have a life. Sure, there are times that require more of us in an area of our lives than others, at these time we add up the cost and fulfill the commitment. However, after that commitment is fulfilled, once the deal is done, we should seek to rediscover our balance again. The key to balance is remaining intuitively aware of where you are in the continuum of balance and what are the effects on the other areas that are important to me.
What are the secrets of living a balanced life and how have others achieved it? People who are balanced measure their lives on the (8) core elements of our lives. They look at each area and give themselves a score from 1 (far out of balance) to 10 (Zen-like harmony) to see where they stand. I’ve done thousands of these over the years with individually and in conferences and I have yet to meet anyone that consistently gives themselves a 10 in each core area. Therefore I’ve found that a reasonable life balance goal of at least 8 is what we should desire in each core area of our lives.
A relatable way to think of balance is by thinking of the car you drive. While the engine and other important parts of the car affect the drive, despite all other parts of the car functioning properly, a small nuanced item can alter the cars drive-ability. What is it, the tires! Tires don’t seem all too important on your car compared to say your engine or transmission, that is until you have a flat or blow out on the interstate. If you look at your life as a car riding on tires, tires that reveal how healthy you are in the core areas of your life, it helps to get a sense of the type of ride (life) you’re currently living and the tires that affect your ride.
