“As Search and Rescue pilots in Vietnam, we were often forced to scramble and quickly get in the air to find and retrieve a downed American. Once on the scene, with bullets flying, enemies bearing down on our man and time of the essence, the first thing to do was evaluate where we stood right then. A life depended on our ability to make right choices based on that evaluation.”
Lamar Smith
Improving Your Balance starts with an honest evaluation of the 5 Key Areas of your life:
* Physical
* Emotional
* Intellectual
* Financial
* Spiritual
GETTING STARTED
Physical – Begin with a 1-10 scale where “10” means a top score and “1” is the opposite. Then grade yourself in the 5 Key Areas.
Keep it simple. For example, in the physical area of your life, where are you on the standard height/weight chart? Do you have a doctor-approved exercise plan, and are you sticking to it? How are your eating, drinking and tobacco habits?
Emotional – How are your relationships at home, at work, at play? How do you feel about the future and your ability to handle it? Our world is a demanding, stressful place. How are you handling it? Do you like and respect yourself?
Intellectual – Do you feel competent to understand and act at work and home? Are you growing in knowledge and understanding of your world and the greater world around you? Are you where you want to be here?
Financial – Make the same evaluation for your personal finances. Do you have a financial plan that includes emergency savings, insurance, children’s college fund, etc.? Are you following your plan? Do you use credit cards wisely? Do you spend money on what you don’t need instead of what you and your family really need?
Spiritual – This rests at the center of the 5 Key Areas for a reason. Like the hub of a wheel, a lack of balance in this area affects all the others. Do you know what you believe and why? Are you confident that your beliefs sufficiently explain the world around you – seen and unseen? When you think of eternity, does it make you feel uncomfortable?
WRITE IT DOWN
Remember, this is your plan, so be honest with yourself. Now ask yourself, for each of these areas:
“What would a ‘10’ look like two years down the road?” Would losing 30 pounds, regular exercise and adequately healthy eating be a physical “10?” Write that down.
Would consistently learning to listen first, speak only after consideration and not lose your temper be an Emotional “10?” Write that down.
You get the idea. Think just two years from now; what does a “10” look like? Write it down. You’ve not only evaluated yourself in 5 Key Areas of life, you’ve established meaningful goals.
Now we need a plan.
