CEOs will tell you that there’s no such thing as a balanced life. But that’s not true. Some people might prefer a life that’s unbalanced, but that option doesn’t appeal to everyone. A well-balanced life is a worthwhile objective for the majority of the population.
What is a well-balanced life?
It’s a life that has all the resources and activities that you most desire. It largely avoids feelings of sacrifice. A balanced life isn’t for those that want to be the best in the world at something. It’s not for the people that live on the edge or the fringe. It’s for regular people that want to enjoy all aspects of life, rather than focus on one thing.
In short, a balanced life contains everything you want it to contain.
All balanced lives have several things in common:
- Finances. If you’re struggling to pay your bills, your life isn’t balanced. If you can’t do the things you most want to do for financial reasons, your life isn’t balanced. Can you afford school supplies? A new transmission? Do you spend all of your waking hours trying to make enough money?
– You don’t need to be wealthy to have a balanced life, but you do need to have enough money. - Transportation. Can you get where you need to be, when you need to be there? Transportation can take the form of walking, public transportation, ride services, friends, or your own vehicle.
– Reliable transportation is an important part of living a balanced life. - Friends. You might need ten friends, or one might be plenty. However, we all need at least one friend. You can’t do everything alone.
- Intimate relationship. This one is optional for many people, but entirely necessary for others. Most of us do better if we have an intimate relationship, or a relationship with the potential to become intimate. Busy people often neglect this area of their lives, but that can be a mistake.
- Health. Poor health can quickly take the wind out of your sails. A well-balanced life includes a healthy mind and body. While your health isn’t 100% under your control, you have more control over it than you’ve probably been exercising.
- Time. If you don’t have enough free time, your life isn’t well-balanced. How much free time do you need? That’s up to you. However, if you don’t have time to do the things you really want to do, you don’t have enough.
- Fun. Everyone needs to have some fun once in a while. Can you quickly answer the question, “What do you do for fun?”? If not, you have some work to do.
- Personal growth. Progress is part of enjoying life. We feel great when we’re making progress. How have you grown and changed in the last six months?
- Career. Money is one thing. Your career is another. Though, they can be closely related. If you make plenty of money, but hate how you make it, your life could be better.
Do you have a balanced life? It’s easy to know. Do you have the money and time to take care of yourself, your family, and to do the things you most want to do? Do you have the social life you desire? Do you have enough time in your week to have fun and grow personally? Do you enjoy your career?
You already know if your life is balanced or not. If it’s not, what are you going to do to re-balance it?