Finding Balance

Work Life Balance signpostA couple of nights ago I was talking to a dear friend about where life has us right now. It was a great little discussion as it always is and my friend said something that has stuck with me ever since.

“you know when I met you, all you did was your job. You had nothing else going on. You ate, drank, and slept Compassion. Nothing else. Now look at you… your life is no longer about just your job but diverse, balanced and healthy”

You know… my friend was right. We unpacked it a little bit more and I realized how unbalanced and how unhealthy life was back then. I was coming to the end of a failed marriage where I escaped the troubles by diving into a job that brought me significance, confidence and results. I slowly got into running which was a help, but for the most part… I was all about my job. Constantly working and thinking that was ok.

One of the great strengths of the team I work on was how we all try to keep each other accountable to traveling less and shutting work off at night and on the weekends. Well… I wasn’t to good at that. But over the last three years, balance has entered the picture.

I can honestly say that today, I have no problem with shutting work email off at night or on the weekends. But because I work in the music industry and shows are happening at night and on weekends, I will glance at emails on occasion just to make sure there are no fires to put out. 99% of the time, it can wait till the next day or Monday.

This conversation came up because we were talking about the different things we have going on in life. For me, it’s triathlons and some outside interests centered around blogging and social networking. It all keeps me very busy, but it’s the kind of busy that is spurring growth for me in every other area.

As I look around at my other coworkers, I’m starting to see where their lives have balance with family and other interests. One coworker coaches AAA basketball and the other serves at his church and has done some investing in real estate. Another coworker is remodeling a house in order to rent it or flip it when the time is right. When I look at these men I realize a very subtly thing. They have lives outside of work.

I probably have more going on in my life than ever before. Even when Big Tent Revival was touring, I never was this busy and yet… it feels balanced. Part of the balance though happens because of planning and being very intentional about what it is I want to accomplish.

Life as I know it comes down to relationships, goals, growth and gaining a deeper understanding of who I am and who I am made to be. Not defined by any one thing but defines by my character and personality.

A healthy life comes from many inputs. It’s not just what you eat or if you exercise, but where you focus time and energy engaging into the process of life.

If you were like me and you work way too much… do yourself a favor. Find a way to take a vacation or a short break. Unplug from life and reset yourself and refresh yourself. Evaluate who is important in your life and what is important in your life. Re-tool a little and you will be amazed at how much more balanced your life will be and how much sweet life will become.

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Category: LIFESTYLE
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  • http://www.lynseleanne.com/blog Lynse Leanne

    This has been something my husband and i have been talking about. Because i work at a growing church it is hard to pull away from church. I started my married life with strict boundaries and other activities to tear me away from work, but i am consumed with it. All of my friends work at the church or are very involved. I neglect good friends because of my job, i take time from my husband because of my job. My parents have said it for the last 2 years that my life is so bent one way that i am not living a balanced life.

    Challenging Spence. Thank you for a little wake up call. Priorities and balance.

  • http://www.thesecretlifeofkat.com The Secret Life of Kat

    Good words, Spence. Good words.

    I’ve found I sometimes have to force myself to relax. I’m a stay at home mom who spends 12 hours a day playing with kids. I love it, but the hard part is that I also LOVE business, marketing, blogging and about a million other things.

    Once the kids are in bed, I tend to dive into learning blogging and working a few web design projects I’m trying to finish up. As a result I’m working pretty hard all the way to bedtime.

    I’ve learned the past few months that I need to schedule down time.

    Thanks for the additional inspiration!

  • lisa

    Spence,

    Right now my life is all about work and preparing to relocate my entire life to another state. I’ve paired down my activities, kept a foot in the ones that keep me passionate about life. At the same time, I am not letting go of the areas of my life that require patience to overcome. Right now my walk with the Lord is day by day; little by little. When my Dad went to be with the Lord, I remember the that 1st year was so overwhelming emotionally. I learned to make an appointment to grieve. So in this transistion, I make appointments to STOP, do nothing but enjoy where I am on the way to where He is leading me.

    I forgot about making appointments until I read your post.

    Thanks,

    Lisa

  • Bryan Gray

    As a good friend once told me, we are human be-ings, not human do-ings. Balance is the key to so many things, especially as Christians, we tend to get caught up in the “cause” and wonder why our personal relationships suffer.