I recently participated in my first podcast on the PROMISE Wheel – my model for a balanced life. The host, Judy Croon of Just Another Mindful Monday, asked me some straight-to-the-point questions, which gave me an opportunity to think about how I’ll be describing and promoting my upcoming book.
One of the questions she asked was what I thought was the magical take-home point – the one thing you can do to have a more balanced life. I thought of two things.
First, re-define what work means to you, and second, find yourself a meaningful hobby.
Life Is More Than Work
One of the shifts in thinking that I find can help people to have a more balanced life is for them to re-examine the role that work has in their lives. When a client often comes to my office dealing with stress, I often see a strong correlation between what’s happening at work and their stress levels.
More specifically, when someone is struggling with feelings of stress, I often find that it’s because of the mental energy and time they are devoting to their work. It’s not so much that the person is so consumed by their work. But it’s because they are ignoring everything else in their life that matters to them. When people are stressed by work, it prevents them from living a more fulfilling life.
The point I want to make in this category is that to have more balance in your life, start by recognizing that work – the Occupation domain in PROMISE – is just a part of your life. Work is not your entire life. If you spend more time on the other parts of your life, it will give you a different perspective on the role of work.
Find A Hobby That Calms and Challenges You
Another tip that I mentioned on the podcast is the importance of having a hobby or interest that calms your mind, and that the hobby or activity have nothing to do with your work. In fact, research shows that people who have hobbies or interests that allow them to detach from work during off-hours are more satisfied with their lives and experience less psychological strain.
In summary, if there were two things that you could do differently to jump-start your move towards a more balanced life it would be to realize that life is more than what you do for work, and to invest some time and energy into finding a hobby that calms you, challenges you, and helps you to detach form your work.
I hope these tips help you to move towards growth and balance.
Richard
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You can hear Part 1 of my interview by clicking here (about 15-min)
You can hear Part 2 of my interview by clicking here (about 15-min)