Why is Work-Life Balance Important?

Nearly every day, I hear a story of someone who is extremely successful in their career, but a failure in some area of their personal life.  You’ve probably heard the stories too, of…

• Sports stars who win big on the playing field, but not in their finances.
• Business leaders who invest in the personal growth of their employees, but not their own kids.
• Entrepreneurs who invest much time and energy into growing their business, but take no time to care for their health.
• Sales people who know how to make their customers feel special, but not their spouse.
• Blue collar workers who give it their all during their shift, but have nothing left to give at home.

I’m confident that no one sets out to do this – to win at their work at the expense of other areas of their life, like family, health and finances.  It just happens, right?  After all, most of us spend much more time at our job than we do in the other life areas.

It doesn’t really “just happen” if we think about it, though.

I’ve found that most people who are successful in certain areas of their lives have made a plan, and a concerted effort, to be successful in those areas.

Conversely, when people are not successful in other areas of their lives, it is because they have not made a plan, and a concerted effort, to be successful in those areas.

Thus, the old axiom is true: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

Is Achieving Balance at Life and Work Important?

As I said in “How to Define Work-Life Balance”, work-life balance is:

An intentional state of harmony and wholeness that exists within the seven major life areas (categories) in a person’s life:  Family, Career, Financial, Social, Health, Personal Development, and Spiritual/Ethical.

Pursuing work-life balance is important to me because I want to enjoy the peace and harmony that comes from living a balanced life…from focusing my time and energies on the things that are most important to me..and not just the things that clamor the loudest for my attention.

Deep down, the thing that motivates me the most is…the feeling of regret.

When I come to the end of my days, I don’t want to regret for one moment that I cared more about work, money or my personal hobbies and habits, than I did for my family.  Do you?

That’s why I’m on a journey toward work-life balance, and a journey toward success in all areas of my life.  It’s all about the life I want to live with my family now, and the legacy I want to leave behind when I’m gone.

What about you?  Are you satisfied with where you’re at in life right now?  Do you feel like you’re giving the attention you want to give to the life areas that are most important to you?

If not, stick around here, sign up for my RSS feed if you haven’t already.  And we’ll walk this journey together.