Balance is journey, not destination

Each individual has four core areas they must balance: spirituality, emotions, relationships, and body. Let one decline for any length of time and stress rises. Each influence one another, so that where there is balance in three the lop-sided area is easier to re-center, while the stress and influence of more than one can be life-altering.

Take me for example. When I am listening for God’s voice and ingesting his words my emotions find expression in prayer, that I have more to offer others, and my body is less tense. When I am identifying and expressing my emotions I connect deeply with God, am present and vulnerable with others, and have better self-control around food. When my relationships are strong, I am more likely to celebrate God with others, I feel part of a team and community, and… I don’t know how this relates to the body. Lastly, if I am exercising and eating well, my heart rises more readily to God, my emotions are steadier, and I have more focus to listen to others.

A corporation is a single entity treated in many ways like an individual though it constitutes many people. Like a person, a corporation has at least four core areas which it must keep in balance if it’s to perform. A corporation must: be spiritually open and respectful, encourage questions and concerns, foster strong, two-way relationships, and take good care of its environment. Like an individual, a business may find itself leaning to one extreme or another in any one of these areas, and a wise entrepreneur will take the same corrective action he might take in his own life when he gets out-of-balance.

Anderson points out that a personal imbalance, “made it awkward for me to discuss the importance of discipline, sacrifice, and self-respect ((Anderson, pg. 138)).” As an entrepreneur attempts to steer their business towards balance in all its core areas, he must demonstrate the same discipline in his own life.

Balance is hard, even impossible. The moments where balance is attained are few, and any pause to enjoy these moments invariably results in losing what balance I’ve gained. To follow my own insight is not to reach a mythical point where I no longer have poorly balanced weeks, forgotten disciplines, or undue stress, but to keep learning and implementing strategies to balance all four core areas of my life. At the end of my days I won’t be able to say, “Behold, I’ve finally balanced my life!” but to say, “I’ve tried ten thousand strategies that don’t work for me and ten or fifteen that sometimes work. I’m still learning and growing!”

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