Can you achieve balance in life?
I’m learning. Life is busy and sometimes it feels out of balance. We work too much. My wife would describe me as a recovering workaholic. Most times I struggle with shutting down the work to spend time with her.
We’re empty nesters now and our children are out on their own. Grateful is the thought that passes through my mind when I think about that. Grateful that they have made it out into the world with the skills and ability to live life on their own. It doesn’t mean I’m not involved because I still get questions and they seek advice but I’m not responsible to provide food with their meals.
Grateful.
The truth is I have more time now than I did when the kids were home. I have done things differently to make more time. I have someone cut my grass. I have someone help clean the house. I have someone help with the paperwork and details so I can focus on other things. Things I do that no one else can or should do. The result is what I call ‘white space’. It gives me time to think, to plan and to execute on those plans in a way that is really helpful. It gives me time to write.
There are things that require my time and sometimes I give too much to the business and sacrifice time with Susan or my kids when they need me. Susan asked me the other day if Daylight Saving Time was a scheme to get us to work more? It’s still daylight at 7pm and I find myself sitting at the computer many evenings until she calls me for dinner.
Most Sundays I volunteer at 12Stone church as the Chaplain of Caffeine and lead the team that brews about 200 gallons of coffee every Sunday. That takes from about 8am to 2pm on Sunday. Not a day of rest for me but certainly something I love to do. It gives me a chance to connect with people in a different way. To see old friends and make new ones.
Things are about to change for us because Susan is retiring from the school system at the end of May and she is going to come work with me in our real estate business. I’m excited and apprehensive at the same time. How is this going to work? What about my need for quiet in the morning and her need for music, conversation and updates on the world? Balance is a goal we have but I am not sure how we get that done.
The truth is balance is not something you achieve. It’s something you work on continuously. The picture at the top shows ‘balance’ but a little bump and that comes to an end. Bumps happen. You can’t avoid them in this life and you better have a plan to handling the bumps.
Here is a video of my mentor, Brian Buffini who talks about this for a few minutes.
I’m glad to share the struggle with folks. If you’d like to get together and talk about balancing, I’m in. Maybe we can help each other in the daily challenge to balance.
Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson
678-231-1578 Cell
