The importance of being balanced
Many people have differing takes on the importance of balance. Some people say balance is dead, and that a blend is the way to go. This can frequently be accompanied by the thought that we can work on getting ahead now, and then once we’ve achieved that goal, if we choose we can then focus on improving our non-work life.
In fact, many people (rightfully) recommend on only focusing on one goal at a time. I agree with that point insofar as if you’re working towards progress in primarily one direction, you will see greater results in a shorter timeframe.
I think the challenge lies instead in making sure you are looking ahead when deciding on your goals. Sure, you want to focus on your career right now, but when you’ve achieved that goal, what is your next focus? When all is said and done, what is your ideal end state? If you’ve only thought about one aspect of your life, when one goal is completed, you’re likely to continue in that same direction. That’s where you’ve developed your momentum and gained inertia.
Now, I’ve written on a related topic before, commenting on one of Ryan Healy’s posts on “The New Work-Life Balance.” While my article was primarily focused on the importance of choosing your personal measure of success, I’d like to reiterate one statement:
“Even if some of your goals are longer term, leaving them out of your planning today can make them that much harder to achieve in the future.”
Now, the trigger for this post actually came from Pam at Escape From Cubicle Nation. Her post on Friday, “Is life just one damn thing after another,” highlights the stories of a few people who are wildly successful in one area of their lives, while seemingly extremely unsatisfied elsewhere.
I think this further reinforces my statement above. It’s fine to focus on improving your career and reaching your goals there, but when doing it at least have your goals for other facets of your life, and a reasonable timeframe for achieving them. If they’re always something that you’ll handle “later”, you might find yourself in a Disney store one day wondering when that “later” will be.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:48 am
Hi Adam, I really agree that having a vision of an “ideal end state” is really important for building a life that you want. It gives you a direction and a focus for making decisions in your life that will lead you to the place you want to be in different areas of your life.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Thanks Amanda, it’s something I’ve been working at trying to implement as well. Basically it gives me a nice criteria to judge things against when trying to decide a direction. As you said, it’s a quick way to say to yourself “Does this match my ideal end state?” in the decision making process.
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Adam - I think the key to having goals in different areas is “having a time frame.” Or at least a specific criteria for establishing when your goal is met…
For example… right now I’m spending as much time as possible on my career because I don’t have anything else to take up my time (wife/family/house etc.) But the question is… “when do I stop spending so much time working and shifting my main focus to other areas?” I think that is a question everyone should know when it comes to setting a variety of goals.
Nice blog!
June 24th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Andy, I think you’ve made a very important point there.
That question, “When do I stop spending so much time working and shifting my main focus to other areas?” is a very important one. As long as you commit reviewing that question on a regular basis, that can be a big tool in ensuring that you don’t wake up one day and wonder where the years have gone.
It shows that you don’t necessarily have that time frame yet, but that you are consistently reevaluating the situation to make sure that you’re working towards your current goals.
Great point!