Getting the balance right

Having come back to work after the Christmas and New Year break I was amazed by how many people seemed to be dreading the idea of being back at work. People moaned about the need to return to a routine of getting up early and missing out on late night movies, not being able to over eat and generally seemed to be annoyed at the idea of working for a living. A few more stoic characters (me included) were ready and willing to get going. The gap between me and the moaners seemed huge and it made me stop and wonder if maybe I had got it wrong. I asked myself why was I so keen to be back to work, didn’t I enjoy the holiday, was it that I didn’t like my own company or that of my friends and family or was it that I am a workaholic and was missing my ‘fix’?
To answer these questions with an open and honest mind is difficult, after all if I answer in the negative to any of them it could imply that I have made mistakes, taken wrong turns in life and made bad decisions. No one really likes to admit if they are wrong, but as a coach I have to be prepared to be honest with myself otherwise I can’t be honest with my clients. So, I looked long and hard at my life, what made it good, where were there things I needed to change, what did I want to improve. This was not just a New Year’s resolution approach; no I took my life in segments and began to ask basic questions about what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to change.
So, I looked at my mental, physical, emotional and social aspects first. Mentally I’m a calm individual and pretty tough. I’ve not had issues in this area of my life so far and am happy, so no need to meddle. Physically I am active but I know I could do a bit more, so the treadmill has been dusted off and I’m working my way back into running on a regular basis: I might even go back to Toronto and do another 5k in their fabulous marathon. Emotionally I am very lucky as I have a wonderful husband so is also a great listener and saves me from myself – he is my coach and keeps me sane. My social life is good, not too busy but with writing and singing and a great circle of friends I am fortunate to be where I am in life.
Other aspects that I don’t place much store by include the spiritual and the symbolic – I say that because I feel the other aspects above are more important, but everyone is different so if you are giving your life a quick MOT, you may choose to include these or other aspects to review.
Going back to why I was happy to be back at work while others didn’t seem as keen took on a new and different meaning once I gave my life a little more perspective. I had genuinely missed the satisfaction I get from working, I wanted to get back into a routine again and I wanted to meet up with my fellow singers and writers to share our troubles and woos. It was a good exercise to do, one I often recommend to my coachees but hadn’t practiced myself for a while. Getting the balance right in life is never easy, but when you do it can make great things happen.