The journey is the destination!
We hear about life balance often and the ideas around this are wide-ranging and sometimes overwhelming. Let’s simplify this just a bit so you can easily incorporate this idea into your real life and business.
Life is short. We understand more about this every day that we are alive. We think back and remember good times and not-so-good times. We think about the things that we hope to accomplish and the opportunities that seem to have passed. We think about hope, anxiety, work, and faith. You are right here, right now, and your life balance is affected by all of your choices (and some choices that are made for you).
Life Balance – Includes the following areas of life (Most everything that you do will fit into these areas).
- Lifestyle – Think of this as both your quality of life and your standard of living. Lifestyle includes all the things that make up your daily life. The things that you do and think and experience throughout the day.
Your quality of life includes all the basics like food, water, clothing, sleep, and shelter. It also includes safety, security, love, and other intangibles.
Your standard of living is basically your level of comfort. This includes so much that we take for granted like a nice home, car, money to spend, and all the things that Americans used to consider “The American Dream.”
- Adventure – Risks, experiences, the unknown, boldness, and vision in both personal and business. This is the place that stretches your comfort zone and grows your dreams.
- Work – This is what you do to support both lifestyle and adventure. This may be a job, a business, or even more passive income generation. Basically, your work provides the resources to live your life.
Life balance is simply the intersection of those three main areas of your existence. We can chart this and see that we are balancing everything pretty well (or not). What is important to note is that it is okay and normal to be out of balance at times and it is in the moving toward balance where we find satisfaction and success.
For example: Sometimes we find ourselves with unexpected financial problems and we drop everything to generate more income. Our family relationships may suffer, we sell the fancy car for a basic one (or a bicycle), and our vacations are put on hold. We work more to solve the immediate problem. As our financial problems subside, we can consciously address the areas of life that we temporarily sacrificed. Our family life and relationships get better. Our faith is restored. Life seems to be on an upswing. This is what moving toward balance looks like and it is how we understand that it is the journey that is important. As long as we move toward balance, we will benefit in all areas of life.
If you would like to talk more about life balance, I’d love to chat. You can schedule a free initial consultation here: https://businessbeyondnumbers.com/contact/