If you feel your life is un-balanced, it probably is. The key is to recognise which pieces of your life are bigger than they need to be, and which pieces are smaller than they should be.
Imagine your life as a pie chart, cut into eight equal pieces. This is what a balanced life should look and feel like. The eight slices represent each of the following aspects of your life:
1. Job or business: Do you keep track of the hours you work per week?
2. Family: Do you spend enough time with them so few feelings of guilt or deprivation result?
3. Friends: How often do you see close friends?
4. Leisure: Do you take the time to do your hobbies and things that are personally fun for you?
5. Health (physical): Do you exercise regularly and eat healthy meals?
6. Personal growth: When was the last time you learned a new skill that wasn’t linked to business?
7. Education: Are you reading industry magazines? Have you joined a local association for networking? Do you go out to lunch with fellow entrepreneurs to learn from one another?
8. Spirituality: Do you take time to connect to your Higher Power (however you define that)?
Feeling that your current life is out of sync means it’s time to look at your own life pie chart and see what needs to be changed. Working 10 to 12 hours a day doesn’t leave a lot of time for those other parts of the pie. Every time you say “yes” to something, you’re saying “no” to something else. So what is it that you tend to say ”no” to in order to work so many hours in your business? Figuring out which areas you’re short-changing will help you re-balance your life again.
Our lives are made up of so much more than we realise sometimes, and it’s not until something is out of balance that it’s actually brought to our attention. Ignoring this can lead to dissatisfaction with life, along with possible physical and mental health problems.
Sometimes we just need to step back and remember to take a look at the whole pie.
