Balanced Yet

I met a banker last week who had changed his thinking and his life.



He had always worked excessively hard, arriving at the office early and leaving late virtually every night. Working you might say to the detriment of family life and with little time for himself.



And then he was involved in a road accident which left two friends seriously injured - one of them with a broken back. The banker walked away with minor cuts and bruises but from that moment on he realized the significance of what had happened and he decided to change his life – to make time for himself and his family. He needed to redress his work/life imbalance and that’s exactly what he has achieved.



He still has a hard work ethic, grafting five days a week, and last year, was one of his bank’s top performers.



But now he arrives at 9 and leaves at 5 because he acknowledges that he has a family and a life outside work. And he makes certain that he has time for both.



Sometimes we are given a subtle message that we need to change our lives and it’s up to us whether or not we follow through. If we ignore those messages for long enough they might either go away, which is highly unlikely, or conspire to collide with us head-on. And if you’re lucky you might walk away with a message, so powerful, that it is enough to change your thinking and your way of life.



When Scotland’s oldest man of 107 years was asked what his greatest achievement was, he replied, “living!”



Are you living? Do you feel alive? Do you look forward to life when you waken every morning? Of course it’s difficult to balance the work/life books every day but how about giving it a try this week?



I remember hearing Willie Jollie, an American Motivational Speaker, saying:

“There’s only one thing for sure – we’re not going to leave this world alive!”



Work without rest doesn’t square. You don’t need to be a banker to know the meaning of balance.

Balanced Yet - To learn more about this author, visit Thomas Chalmers's Website.

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