Balancing Your Life on Purpose!

Life balance is a journey and a process, not a destination or a one time event. Because of this ever-changing, fast-paced world we live in, one never “arrives” or “masters” a balanced life, it a conscious, continuous choice one makes every day.  As a busy wife, mother, minister, entrepreneur, family member and friend (and I might have forgotten a few of roles), I am continually being drawn in 50 different directions all at the same time and what I thought was balanced in one moment, is easily thrown off the next.  So although I’m writing this article to encourage, motivate and inspire you to balance your life on purpose, I also am reminding myself the importance of doing the same. 

While building my business, raising a family and attaining an education, I learned the value and importance of living a balanced life.  In 2003 I left my steady, comfortable, well-paid, full-time career and took a step of faith, following my passion and vision to own my own business, training and coaching emerging leaders. At the same time, I was raising a family and in school.  As I began to work with client who were just starting in their careers or looking for a change, I wrote, Living On Purpose! Keys to Discovering Your God-Given Destiny to assist them in living a life of purpose, on purpose. There was rarely a quiet, thoughtful moment, until I deliberately took one. 

Living on purpose requires living each day intentionally designing your time to help you realize your dreams and participate in the experiences that are most important to you. But you cannot successfully do so if your life is off kilter and you’re doing all you can to hold on and keep your head above water.  Living a life on purpose requires you to first answer one very basic but important question that will help you to identify areas that are out of alignment and discover opportunities to better manage your life.     

What do you value?  Really think about this. Do you value family, money, prestige, accomplishment, career, health, recognition, recreation, travel, quite time, a relationship with God, friendships, personal development, professional development…what? Write down everything that comes to mind.

Then, identify your top 10 values and prioritize them with 1 being most important and 10 being important but on this list, least important. 

Now, circle your top three values and think about these top three.  Are they a priority for you right now? Are they reflected in your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly schedule or tasks? Look at your bank statement or checkbook, do your values show up there? If not, why not?

If you’re feeling out of balance, this is probably a good indicator why. You are not living the purposeful life you desire and are really intended to live.

So what can you do about it?  Here’s a great exercise:

1. Next to each value you identified, write down the percentage of time (just guess, it doesn’t have to be exact) you currently spend in that area. And if work wasn’t a top value list it now if it’s a necessity for you (and doesn’t fit into another category).  Also add to the list any other necessities, like sleep and meal times, if you don’t find another place for them on your list. 
2. Did you include yourself as a value? Again, if not, why not?
3. Now, next to your current percentage of time you are spending, write the time you’d like to spend in each area.  That time should line up more with what you say is a priority for you.  Does it? If not, why not? Where’s the disconnect?
4. Now, comparing the two lists, ask yourself, what can I do to create a more balanced life?  Of course certain things like work or raising a family are non-negotiable. But you can do a few things differently such as:

o       Find a partner that will go through the process with you (for example, a workout or networking buddy)

o       Rearrange your schedule to fit those important things in (such as lunch with friends or time alone for yourself or with a significant other)

o       Hire a coach to help you identify areas that you feel stuck in and have been unable to overcome by yourself.

As I said in the beginning, life balance is a process, not a one time event.  There are many other tips on life balance to share but the above suggestions should get you started. Remember, you might have to do some things differently in order to balance your life on purpose!

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