What is "Life Balance" Anyway?

For years now, I’ve been trying to “balance” my life, but I find it continues to be a bit lop-sided no matter what I do.

I’m wondering what exactly is “life balance” anyway?  Is it even possible?  I have worked with many individuals over the years and continue to do so around this topic of life balance.  I’ve come to realize that a “perfectly balanced” life is not “perfect” at all.

I have found that, as the season of life we are in changes, the roles and responsibilities we need to balance changes with them.  When our children are small, those things we balance revolve around our babies’ needs.

As our children entered school, school commitments are added to our already crowded schedule.  My oldest enjoyed being a part of everything in school which kept us hopping until he learned to focus his time and energies in those things he enjoyed the most.

And still as they’ve gotten older and are involved in competitive sports, those things I balance have changed again.  As I spend more time driving to and from practices and watching practices, our time at home has become more limited and I’ve chosen to step out of some roles to make room for these new ones.

As my coaching business grows, I feel the need for “balance” even more.  I learn to balance my priorities as I help others identify and learn those very same things.  Life is busy and we can become very distracted and stressed if we are not careful.

Just how does one keep it all balanced so things don’t end up neglected or undone?

I’ve discovered that “perfect balance” is not what I’m after, but more like “perfect balance for this season of life.”

I’m not sure it’s actually possible to perfectly balance everything in my life.  Even after all the simplifying and weeding out I’ve done over the past year, it still seems to be quite full.  Instead of balancing I’ve chosen to intentionally engage in what is going on in this season of my life:

•  To not just drop the children off at their practices because I’m running behind, but to make the time and stay and watch what they’re doing.
•  Or to volunteer at the Humane Society with my children so that they can spend time caring for the animals this summer--something they enjoy immensely.
•  Or to swim and play in the pool with them on these wonderfully hot summer days.

Sure, I have a list of things I could be doing instead of these things I just mentioned, but few of them are more important than spending time with my family while I still can.

My oldest just completed his freshman year of high school.  In three short years he’ll be going off to college to follow his dreams.  Our lives will change.

So while we’re still all together here, spending time together is a part of my balancing act along with those other things that I am passionate about.

And one day, when I look back on my life and fondly remember these times, I’ll know that, while I may not have balance everything perfectly, I balanced well.