My perspective on BALANCE
Two things run in polar opposites in my mind. Balance in life and excelling in a specific thing. Excellence requires imbalance if you truly want to be great. So, do we settle for being mediocre for the value of a balanced life? My personal feeling is that you simply take a longer snapshot of time to evaluate to accomplish balance.
On a recent trip to NY, I ended up taking my oldest son with me. In doing so, I made sure we got to Central Park so that he could have that experience. Seeing the bubble magicians is something to behold. It is a craft that requires skill and personality. It just so happened that there was a young couple getting wedding pictures taken in the background. All four (wedding couple, photographer and bubble magician) individuals are extremely present in this moment in their life.
Being present and knowing where you should be spending your time is the skill that needs to be attained. That is what at times is really hard. You will inevitably miss things and depending on how you look at your values, your life will appear imbalanced to someone else. You need to be your own judge and then give yourself full to the moment you are living.
What is important I believe is not trying to achieve balance every day. With some things, it is a weekly thing. With others, it is a monthly time frame. And with other things, it could be a year or sets of years. Looking back, you should be able to see the balance emerge, especially in the things that you value.
For example, exercise. I try to move at least 30 minutes everyday. Sometimes, that “movement” is walks with the family. Other times it is leading a practice or exercising with my son or maybe a bike ride. There have been periods in my life where physical fitness was a key priority. Needing to play well for a team I was on. Needing to be a more active dad. There were other times that it was less important than something else - like when we spent ten weeks taking care of my son in the NICU.
There will be key milestones in your life. Getting a degree. Starting a new job. Running a business. Those moments require more focus and energy so that you can be happier in your performance. That in return blesses those around you. Don’t try and do everything. Focus your time and forgive yourself for falling short in other areas.
I think it is important to put check points around ourselves. Loved ones, peers, trainers, doctors, etc… My goal for the last two decades has been to balance out some of my passions, my family, and work. This website serves as another tool to help me live a balanced and fulfilled life.