Thursday, January 04, 2007

Life Balance

Work-life balance has become the forefront issue confronting family and Corporate America, and the issues appear in other nations across the globe, as well.

Balance is about "consciously creating a life that reflects your personal values".

People react to the idea of life balance. I find that people either get pensive and envious of the idea of a balanced life or they become argumentative and insist that they “have to live this way…they don’t have a choice"! Clearly there’s something important about balance or it wouldn’t be such an emotional trigger and so often sought after.

In thinking about balance, I realized that the majority of my clients come to me to create more balance in their lives, whether they're a parent or not. Actually, they really come to me for a variety of reasons, including career advancement, time management, stress reduction, goal achievement, motivation, skill development, relationship building, etc. However, these issues are often symptoms of an unbalanced life, not the problem or gap itself. As people begin work with me and to better balance their lives, they become more effective at work and at home and these symptoms begin to fade away. Alternatively, as they become more effective, they begin to create more balance, which makes them even more productive and efficient, so it is a bit of the chicken or the egg.

Balance is a very foundational product of and catalyst for personal and professional effectiveness.

When we think of balance, we often think of it as “work-life balance”, but it’s probably more accurate to think of it as “life balance”. After all, while work is a time consuming part of your life, there are other parts as well: spouse/romance, family, personal growth, fun, spirituality, friends, fitness, finances, etc. “Work is only part of your life, it’s not YOU—it is just one thing you do.” When you live life the other way around, your life suffers, including your relationships, self-care, leisure pursuits, and personal growth. Live as though work is part of your life not as if your life is part of your work! Do you get what I mean???

The bottom line…Life balance is important for everyone, especially Super Busy Parents! It can be challenging to achieve life balance because it requires your attention, adjustment and recalibration due to the dynamic nature of life. But, balance is a process not an accomplishment!

Wishing you a new year with lots of success and balance!

Best regards,

Coach Natalie

P.S. Be sure to visit my website for some more tips and articles about life balance!