To Have Balance, Choose

Work or Fun
Win or Lose
Quality or Quantity
Wealthy or Happy
Work or Family

These all seem like opposites.

You can have one, but only at the expense of the other. Many of life’s choices seem set up as alternatives. If you pick one, you’ll be partly happy, but not completely.

There are times in life when there is a clear alternative. You can’t go right and left at the same time. With 24 hours in a day, you have to choose where you spend your time.

So, how do you achieve balance?

First of all, what does balance mean? One definition is, “a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions.”

The key question is what is the ‘correct proportion’?

You get to choose. That’s what life is all about.

Choosing may seem hard but, when you don’t choose, life is much more difficult. When you let other people choose for you, it’s hard.

Let’s take one example, it’s the weekend and you have work to do. You also have a family event to attend plus a bunch of other things to do.

What should you do?

Ask yourself, what’s important. Well, of course, everything is. You don’t want to disappoint your work colleagues nor do you want to forego the fun with your family.

We’ve found that if you focus on what you want, the details will take care of themselves. For example, a few weeks ago the family/work dilemma showed up. How can we do both? Almost like magic, the work requirement was postponed. The meeting was rescheduled and the time was available to attend the family event without a hint of guilt or worry about work.

My work was choosing what I wanted to happen. In this case, it was to have both. Make sure I get the work done AND have time with family. While they seemed incompatible, it turned out not to be.

If I stayed focused on having to choose, all my energy would have been on something I can’t have. Instead, focusing on what I want (both) and letting the Universe work out the details worked for me.

The next time you are faced with a choice of how to spend your time and energy, sit back and feel what it’s like when everything works out fine. Have trust that it will work out – know what you want and let it go.

You’ll be amazed at how much more time and energy you have when you aren’t caught up in all the details of how everything is supposed to work out.