Pushing the Edge of Life Balance
Pushing the Edge of Life Balance
So let me ask you…do you really feel fulfilled with your current career path?
Are you happy? Are your personal and professional lives everything you want them to be? No? Then you need a life plan that clarifies your priorities and creates goals that match your priorities.
Keeping up with the Johnstons
Mary Johnston teaches elementary school. Her husband, Travis, is a project manager with a high-tech firm. His job requires him to stay until things get done. He’s also called on to escort clients to local restaurants and to attend trade shows.
All of this means that Travis isn’t home much.
And that gets to Mary. After knocking herself out to make really nice dinners that Travis was never home to eat, Mary started to plan around Travis not being home at night.
She joined in with friends to go see movies, or dine out, and she ended up belonging to three different book clubs.
On the rare occasions when Travis was able to bust loose and come home early, he expected to be rewarded by being greeted with open arms…not an empty house with a sticky note on the refrigerator saying she’d be home later. It made him mad…and Mary was already way past mad.
Sitting down and talking it out
Something had to give, so finally Mary and Travis sat down and talked it out. They were very honest about what they wanted from life, and what they wanted from their careers.
Although they wanted to have more time—and especially dinners—together, they concluded that they’d have to sacrifice too much. First, they wanted to get out of debt, pay off their mortgage and cars, and build up true financial security.
Just talking it out really helped. Now Travis isn’t mad, and Mary is much calmer. She doesn’t get upset when he’s not home for dinner, and he understands that if he wants her to be there when he’s able to get away early, he should call and give her a heads-up.
Sacrifices that both of them were previously making are now conscious choices, so it’s easier on both of them. Resentment has melted away, replaced by a feeling of “I’m doing this because I decided to do it.”
About your life and your career
Now it’s your turn to ask yourself what you want out of your life and your career. Your first impulse is probably: "success" and "happiness,” but those are very vague, good-sounding words. We need to get more specific.
How can you determine your specific life and career goals? Block out some time when you can brainstorm undisturbed, grab a pad and a pen, and spend some time alone writing down all the “wild blue yonder” stuff you want for your life and career.
Your “wants” -
Write down your wants—any and all of the specific goals and dreams you have for your life and your career. Want to be the boss and have a staff at your beck and call? Put it down on the pad.
Or do you want to run a home-based business so you can home school your kids? Write it down. Your want might even be the world’s largest beer can or baseball card collection. Go ahead—write it down.
Your “must haves” -
These are the non-negotiable goals and dreams you must have to be happy and succeed. Which goals are most important—the ones you’ve just gotta have? What are you willing to give up to get there?
This is an exercise in clarity because it will give you a good idea of what's really important to you. Once you know what’s most important to you and what you’re willing to sacrifice for it, you’re in a position to go get it.
Keeping goals flexible
People’s priorities change throughout life. At 16, your priority might have been to have the biggest, baddest muscle car around. At 46, it might be to have the biggest, baddest 401k balance.
Of course, your priorities won't remain the same as you move through life. When you hit a turning point such as a possible job or location change, get your pad and pen and do the exercise again.
Better yet, sit down and re-list your priorities at regular intervals like the beginning of every year. This beats New Year's resolutions—and it keeps your eye on the ball.
Copyright 2007 David B. Bohl, REFLECTIONS Coaching LLC. All rights reserved.
Pushing the Edge of Life Balance - To learn more about this author, visit David Bohl's Website.
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In this article, we’re going to push the edge of the envelope. I’m going to challenge you all to take hard looks at your lives as they are today – the internal and external factors
So let me ask you…do you really feel fulfilled with your current career path?
Are you happy? Are your personal and professional lives everything you want them to be? No? Then you need a life plan that clarifies your priorities and creates goals that match your priorities.
Keeping up with the Johnstons
Mary Johnston teaches elementary school. Her husband, Travis, is a project manager with a high-tech firm. His job requires him to stay until things get done. He’s also called on to escort clients to local restaurants and to attend trade shows.
All of this means that Travis isn’t home much.
And that gets to Mary. After knocking herself out to make really nice dinners that Travis was never home to eat, Mary started to plan around Travis not being home at night.
She joined in with friends to go see movies, or dine out, and she ended up belonging to three different book clubs.
On the rare occasions when Travis was able to bust loose and come home early, he expected to be rewarded by being greeted with open arms…not an empty house with a sticky note on the refrigerator saying she’d be home later. It made him mad…and Mary was already way past mad.
Sitting down and talking it out
Something had to give, so finally Mary and Travis sat down and talked it out. They were very honest about what they wanted from life, and what they wanted from their careers.
Although they wanted to have more time—and especially dinners—together, they concluded that they’d have to sacrifice too much. First, they wanted to get out of debt, pay off their mortgage and cars, and build up true financial security.
Just talking it out really helped. Now Travis isn’t mad, and Mary is much calmer. She doesn’t get upset when he’s not home for dinner, and he understands that if he wants her to be there when he’s able to get away early, he should call and give her a heads-up.
Sacrifices that both of them were previously making are now conscious choices, so it’s easier on both of them. Resentment has melted away, replaced by a feeling of “I’m doing this because I decided to do it.”
About your life and your career
Now it’s your turn to ask yourself what you want out of your life and your career. Your first impulse is probably: "success" and "happiness,” but those are very vague, good-sounding words. We need to get more specific.
How can you determine your specific life and career goals? Block out some time when you can brainstorm undisturbed, grab a pad and a pen, and spend some time alone writing down all the “wild blue yonder” stuff you want for your life and career.
Your “wants” -
Write down your wants—any and all of the specific goals and dreams you have for your life and your career. Want to be the boss and have a staff at your beck and call? Put it down on the pad.
Or do you want to run a home-based business so you can home school your kids? Write it down. Your want might even be the world’s largest beer can or baseball card collection. Go ahead—write it down.
Your “must haves” -
These are the non-negotiable goals and dreams you must have to be happy and succeed. Which goals are most important—the ones you’ve just gotta have? What are you willing to give up to get there?
This is an exercise in clarity because it will give you a good idea of what's really important to you. Once you know what’s most important to you and what you’re willing to sacrifice for it, you’re in a position to go get it.
Keeping goals flexible
People’s priorities change throughout life. At 16, your priority might have been to have the biggest, baddest muscle car around. At 46, it might be to have the biggest, baddest 401k balance.
Of course, your priorities won't remain the same as you move through life. When you hit a turning point such as a possible job or location change, get your pad and pen and do the exercise again.
Better yet, sit down and re-list your priorities at regular intervals like the beginning of every year. This beats New Year's resolutions—and it keeps your eye on the ball.
Copyright 2007 David B. Bohl, REFLECTIONS Coaching LLC. All rights reserved.
Pushing the Edge of Life Balance - To learn more about this author, visit David Bohl's Website.
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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