Life without balance is like a bike with one wheel. To achieve any goal in life, balance is the key. For we know, too much of anything is poison and too little of anything is a deficiency. To re-balance life means to give the best you’ve got to achieve the goal. Let’s take an example, if you are to climb Mount Everest, you will make sure you have the equipment and you are in the best of health or to talk of a marathon race, you would never take part in it if your legs were injured. This action of reason comes with the understanding that it is not possible to achieve the goal in such conditions. For another instance, if you plan on a long route road trip, you will look into the maintenance of the car, making sure each part is in good condition. Likewise, to achieve any goal, you have to be in the best condition. That is why re-balancing your life is of utmost importance.
The term ‘re-balance is used because most times than not, we tend to focus on our work and career a little too much and that leads to an imbalance unconsciously. That is why we have to consciously make efforts to re-balance.
Wheels Of Life Approach
Coaching uses an effective tool called ‘wheels of life’ to help individuals re-balance their lives. The symbolic representation of this tool depicts an eight axis wheel. This axis can differ from person to person depending on their life and conditions. To take a look at a general axis, let’s take these common factors like family, career, finance, health, friends, partnership, hobbies, and environment. Each of these factors adds value to one’s life and each of them deserves a portion of time, energy and indulgence.
Here’s How You Do It
Make a list of factors that add value to your life, it can be less than eight or more.
Now draw circles around each of these factors and give them individual markings indicating importance given within the units of one to ten (one being the least and ten being the most). If you see a wider disparity on the basis of time and indulgence, it indicates an imbalance in these factors of your life that add value to you. This tool helps reflect on the current status of your life and helps you see why you weren’t recharged, refreshed, or motivated enough to move towards your goal efficiently.
A Wholesome Balance
If you are a leader, you must be mindful of your team members’ balance in life. It is understood that team members are professional partners and the relationship with them is purely formal but each one’s performance is based on their balance in life. If there is balance, there is performance. If an individual is healthy, happy, and satisfied, it will be reflected in his/her performance. If the team member has an impending family concern, that individual will not be able to focus on the project, thereby reflecting badly on performance. As leaders, we must be mindful of our responsibility as humans to take care of our fellow beings and work together as a team for a hundred per cent goal achievement.
We constantly complain and talk about work-life balance. We must be mindful of creating an environment where the balance is kept for each individual working with us. Not just for them, but for our own selves as leaders. We unconsciously slip into the imbalance by working beyond the boundaries of requirement. Eventually, then, that becomes a habit and begins to create a gap. Working on weekends, compromising time with family, creating a culture of overworking and expecting the same from the team members, valuing work over health, and many such practices only leads to an imbalance that keeps growing by the day. Coaching will help you to keep a check on the balance and to objectively reflect on your actions regularly.
All Coaching Is Life Coaching
There is a reason why all kinds of coaching, executive coaching, business coaching, career coaching and others of the like are called life coaching. No matter what goal you undertake, you have to have the balance in life to be able to achieve it efficiently. Every goal, whether professional or personal, is linked to the bigger circle of life and that’s why it reflects in performance. Therefore, balance in life is key to any goal you set out to achieve.
Do not neglect the importance of balance in life. With coaching, you will be able to effectively balance and keep a constant check on your life, your growth, and your skills.