Ask the lonely woman what she wants most in life, she will say, “I want to be loved.”
Ask the man riddled with disease what he wants most in life, he will say, “I want to be well.”
Ask the poor soul with no money what she wants most in life, she will say, “I want to be rich.”
Are you just one or two events or decisions away from one of these states? A broken relationship, illness or immobility, or financial ruin? Chances are, you are spending most of your time focused on just one area of your life.
I liken your life to a three-legged stool. The first leg is your personal life, including your relationships. The second leg is your physical life, the health and wellness parts about you. The third leg is your professional life, your personal finances and contribution to society.
Which leg of the stool are you most focused on?
In order to stay balanced and maintain equilibrium, you must be intentional about ALL areas of your life.
What is your short leg? Which area have you let go?
It is not too late to get control of your three-legged stool and get your life back in balance. All the qualities and personality traits that have helped you to grow that one healthy leg will also help you improve the other areas of your life.
If your personal relationships are suffering, choose three people who make your life most pleasant, and make every effort to see them.
· Don’t send a text. Make a call. Set a date and time.
· Show up, be engaged. Put your phone away and do some deep listening.
· Afterward, reflect on what it feels like to be present with the people who make your life valuable.
· Take a note on how much you’ve missed those feelings of fellowship and connection.
· Make a commitment to create opportunities for your personal life on a regular basis.
If your physical life is suffering, choose two meals and two snacks per day for which you will make nutritious choices, and get outside.
· You don’t need fancy preps or cooking skills. Just make turkey-bacon and eggs with a handful of carrots for breakfast.
· Mid-morning snack can be an apple dipped in natural peanut butter.
· Lunch might be a fresh green salad with tuna or chicken and a small amount of Bolthouse Ranch dressing.
· Mid-day snack might be cottage cheese with pineapple.
· At the end of three days’ worth of making nutritious choices, reflect on how it feels to eat food that fuels your body and brain.
· Take a note on how satisfying your meals have been, how amazing it is to not be ravenous when you get home from work, and how much better you have been able to concentrate.
· Make a commitment to invest in your nutritional health for just these 2 meals and two snacks for the next month.
If your professional life is suffering, choose one area to concentrate on:
Integrity Passion Development Strength Interaction Learning
Managing Complexity Communicating Leading Change Technical
Coaching Market & Product Knowledge Execution Human Relationships
· You don’t need a degree or certification to move forward in your job. The best employees take it upon themselves to develop new and stronger skills.
· Take honest stock of your current performance in this area. What should you stop doing? What should you start doing? What should you continue doing?
· Ask a trusted mentor for guidance in developing your area. Successful people love to be involved in developing others.
· As you work on your new goal, take a note on what it feels like to be taking control of your professional life, what the potential outcomes might be, and how others will see you as you forge ahead with new vigor.
When you decide that you will TAKE ACTION on your own behalf, you reduce the risk of others making decisions for you that don’t align with who you are and the life you want to lead.
We are all leaders of our own lives. Would you follow YOU?
