Balance is Bunk! Fast Company Story Link
Here is another story in a long line of stories that Fast Company has done about worklife balance. This story stresses the importance of devoting our full attention to the task at hand: family, work, free time, etc. They have documented many times before that if we love what we do for a living, the possibility of burnout goes down significantly regardless of the number of hours per week that we work.
I have a mild fascination with the concept of “balance” in life. There seems to be a growing body of proponents on either side of the conversation (pro-balance and non-balance) that make a great case for their perspectives. In my vocation (pastor), the number is something like 50% end their career in ministry within a decade of beginning it. Most say that the problem resides with balance, support, and general stress caused by the demands of ministry.
At this point in my life, I am definitely living an unbalanced life. But I have never been more fulfilled, content, and energized in my spiritual life, for my family, and my work. This may be a post that I read five years from now and see how “dumb” I was, but I am not seeking balance in my life at this point. I want to continue to fully devote myself to my spiritual journey and family and work. You figure that we all have a limited time here on this earth for God to use us. For me, I am interested in being fully invested; even maybe over-invested.
This is another one of these posts that I am not trying to write a “how to” book. I am not comfortable in telling anyone else to choose to be unbalanced. I am just trying to share another one of my struggles in hopes you too may be in the midst of something similar.
One of the keys for my life is to practice some self-care. For instance, as an introvert, I need my time away to recharge on a regular basis (weekly at minimum, daily at best). If I do that, I find that I have energy for those who are most important to me. If not, I run down and am a grouch to be around. I am sure you have those things that you need to do to be at your best. I encourage us all to not be afraid to practice self-care.
The journey continues…
todd nelson 