In this month’s newsletter article, we’re talking about routines and habits that keep us from living a full life. We’re continuing the discussion here.
Where in your life is habit or routine getting in the way of leading a balanced life? If you look closely, you will probably notice that there are things you do every day that do not necessarily lead to a balanced life. As an example, let’s look at Sara. She spends every night after work cooking dinner, doing the dishes, and getting her kids’ lunches ready for the next day. But when she stops to look at her habits, she realizes that spending all this time every night in doing a service for her family, which she wants to do, she is actually missing out on spending quality time with them. Her life isn’t very balanced. To change this, she decided to have her kids help her with the cooking and cleaning, so that she could get her duties done in less time while spending time with her family.
Another example is Peter who, for years, spent every Sunday afternoon playing racquetball with his friends. When he has to cancel one Sunday to go to a relative’s wedding, he feels really resentful. It takes him some time to understand that the pull of his routine is the cause of his resentment. When he really thinks about it, he is actually looking forward to the special time spent with his family and friends.
Susan wrote, “A life that is filled with the riches of play, intimacy with family and friends, alone time, personal growth and so on is a balanced life. Make sure you are fully committed to all aspects of your life.”
If you find a habit or routine that is interfering with being able to spend time with family or to say yes to invitations—and many other things—then you need to consider where you can make changes in your life to be able to do all the things that create a Whole Life.