In today's fast-paced world of busy families, increasing responsibilities, and BlackBerry/cellphone's extended reach, fewer and fewer people are enjoying a balanced life. It's no wonder adult depression rates are high and employee satisfaction is low. An imbalanced life is de-motivating, frustrating, and overwhelming.
Just as a multi-story building is only as strong as its foundation, a multi-faceted life is only as strong and well balanced as its foundation. Each person has access to the fundamental building blocks that support a balanced life. In these times, however, it often takes intentional effort and work on the inner self to properly recognize, clarify, and strengthen the building blocks sufficiently to support a balanced life.
The Fundamentals of a Balanced Life
The foundational building blocks of life balance can easily be remembered as the five Ps: Purpose, Passions, Powers, Principles, and Perspectives.
- Purpose: Life Purpose is one's reason for being. It is the calling that resides deep within and has since birth. Purpose is the answer to the universally asked questions, "Who am I?" and "Why am I here?" Those who can answer these questions have a strong foundation for a balanced and fulfilling life. Without the guidance of purpose, life can be a meandering search of frustration and dissatisfaction. Life Purpose has little to do with what a person does, but everything to do with whom they are being while doing what they're doing.
- Passions: One's Passions are the activities - the doing things - that allow a person to experience life Purpose. Passions are activities of high interest, high energy, and high fulfillment.
- Powers: Everyone excels at a few activities. These unique Powers or strengths are the special skills that enable a person to excel at Passions, thereby experiencing Purpose.
- Principles: These are the daily values of living that, when honored, cause one to feel right about life and true to self.
- Perspectives: The underlying core beliefs that guide life's direction.
Balanced Life Characteristics
The well balanced life will be filled with activities that allow a person to fully utilize their unique Powers, occupied in activities well aligned with Passions, and allowing the individual to fully experience life Purpose. The person living a well balanced life will hold Perspectives about life and live with Principles which are aligned, integrated, and supportive of life Purpose.
Life Balance in Action
How does a person bring life back into balance when the imbalance becomes intolerable? Always by going back to the fundamentals, the five Ps. The first step takes honest self reflection, re-examining satisfaction with each of life's roles and responsibilities. There are many tools for this purpose including the free Balanced Life Worksheet.
Life Purpose
Next, one must discover or re-affirm life purpose, becoming clear on the states of being that bring satisfaction and joy and those that return frustration and disappointment. This step can be difficult, forcing one to face the need to change some aspects of life.
Further reflection involves an inventory of one's Passions, Powers, Principles and Perspectives. When these fundamentals of life are known, a person can restructure life's roles and responsibilities over time to be more aligned with and fully utilize the five Ps, Purpose, Passions, Powers, Principles, and Perspectives.
Back to Basics
With a life foundation based on solid fundamentals, it is possible to make life changes that bring about a more balanced and satisfying life. For more information on available resources of a balanced life see the author's profile.
Related Articles: Self Awareness for Life Balance, Self Awareness and Life Purpose
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