Today, everything is moving faster than ever. Henry Emerson Fosdick said “The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.” Maintaining balance in the “world on my hip technology” environment we live in today can be pretty difficult. Everything in life seems to be going 4 times faster than ever, plus 8 times the responsibilities, 10 times the options, 20 times the problems and only half the budget.
When operating at this lightening fast pace, it’s pretty easy for our lives to get into imbalance. A very important component of leadership is being able to decide how much emphasis to put where and when. When we don’t make wise decisions in this, it creates an imbalance. The results of Imbalance creates distortion and breakage in our lives, but when balance is restored, beauty and harmony is the result. Better choices equals better results.
It’s because many people think of their lives as thousands of pieces that must be seperated, captured and arranged, but at Clear Vision, we’ve identified only seven categories to manage.
Financial
Marriage and Family
Personal Growth
Physical
Professional
Social
Spiritual
Everything you do affects the other areas. For example, if you spend an hour working out, you can’t spend that time at work. If you spend a dollar doing something with friends, you can’t spend it on your child or invest it. No matter the size of your resources, every decision has some impact on all seven of these areas. If you give to one, many times you subtract from the others.
It’s good to memorize this list, that way, when you approach a decision, you can always review the implications for each category. “If I decide to take a vacation this year, what will be the financial impact, the impact on my family, on my personal growth, and on my physical, professional, social and spiritual development?” Suppose you just recieved an additional one thousand dollars. Which category are you going to impact with that resource?
This list gives you a constant instant context for making decisions and keeping your life in balance. This is also helpful when trying to determine any area out of balance at the moment. Rather than trying to search through your vague feelings that something is missing, you can get clarity by asking yourself which of the seven areas may not be in balance or in which you are feeling pressure.
This gives you a great place to start regaining your balance, zeroing in on a particular area that needs your attention.
Here are some questions for self-analysis:
Which of the seven areas are getting more of my time, energy and money than necessary?
Which area have I been neglecting?
In which area do I feel the most pressure, and why?
What three specific, measureable, time-bound steps can I take to correct the imbalance I have identified?
What are the unwanted results I will have if I continue living with the imbalance in my life?
Am I willing to pay the price it will take to re-balance these areas in my life?
Who or What would benefit most if my life regained balance?
Who or What would lose the most?
Who can help hold me accountable for my plan?