You hear a lot of talk about having balance between work and the rest of our lives but, just how realistic is it?

To be alive, to experience life, its sense of wonder, the excitement, the emotions – joy, sadness, anger, fear.  But often you get caught up in the details and forget the things that are really important, the things that make life worth living! These details provide distractions and if this continues without some check you can experience dissatisfaction with your job, or life.  Whatever the distraction or problem, the outcome is the same—job or life dissatisfaction leading to complete burnout and the feelings of depression.

With the pressure to preform and to provide so strong, how do you avoid focusing on the small details and missing out on that bigger picture?

Let’s take a page from the life of children.  Children teach us about the full-throttle experiencing of life.   If you are willing to watch children play in their natural interactions with the world around them, you can learn a great deal about what has been temporarily obscured by our adult seriousness. To recapture the spirit of play is to bring balance into our lives, when you are out of touch you are unsettled and, fragmented instead of in touch with what you really want, what you really believe, and ultimately who you really are.

Most people spend a third or more of their lives in the workplace. So it is very important that you recognize what and how work supports your wellbeing—physically, financially, emotionally, relationally, intellectually, and spiritually.

No matter how bad the situation may seem, realize that when you give up your voice in your own life, you become the victim of circumstances, and then you are lost.

There are many ways to practice initiative and self-responsibility in the workplace without having to quit your job. You can make changes in your relationship to your job so it will satisfy you more deeply.

Start by assessing your relationship to your job in the light of some the factors below.

• You like what you do even if you don’t like all of the details of your job.
• You have a sense of purpose in what you do.
• You can distinguish between the job you do and who you are.
• You spend time cultivating other interests and other aspects of yourself that your job doesn’t include.
• You practice self-responsibility, safety, stress reduction, and honest communication as much as possible.
• You feel good when you get up in the morning to go to work.
• Your spouse and children appreciate and encourage your work. Your work allows you to spend quality time with your family.

Become an active participant in your life, and you will maintain a sense of being in charge of your life.

You do this by initiating changes, however small. Many times a small change is all it takes.

Two levels to make changes:

Behavioural – At this level you will actually do something, or not do something, to effect a change in your environment.

Attitudinal change – At this level you work within yourself, changing your perception, your degree of attachment, or your sense of purpose and intention with regard to your job. The proverbial cup appears half empty or half full depending upon the observer’s attitude. It is up to you to define how your job gives meaning to your life and what overall purpose it serves.

Balance is a relative thing based on your needs, claim yours today!