Back to School Balance Challenge

Can you feel it? The hustle and bustle of the back-to-school-frenzy is in the air.

Balancing all your work, home, family, school, social and volunteer responsibilities can be a real challenge any time – but it’s especially complicated this time of year as you try to negotiate your new routines.

In order to be a good parent, there’s a tendency to want to do it all and to say yes to everything.

But I’d like to challenge you to work hard at choosing your commitments with a large dose of discernment.

I’ll never forget my first experience as a school volunteer when my oldest daughter entered kindergarten. The class needed volunteers to bake cookies for a party. (At that time no store bought cookies were allowed!) How could I say no when the teacher asked for my help while my sweet five year old was standing there with pleading wide-eyes?

But if I had been honest with everyone I would have admitted that I wasn’t much of a cook instead of staying up half the night experimenting with cookie dough until I lucked into a batch that was edible!

At 2 a.m. I confirmed what I already knew. Baking cookies was not my gift. It was not until I acknowledged that – and accepted and offered the gifts I did have - that I grew into being a volunteer who felt more balanced and comfortable in her own skin.

I‘m reminded of the father of a Boy Scout. This man would go on all the outdoor camping trips to prove how good a dad he was. But he seemed to come back every time with some type injury or feeling of inadequacy. Outdoor survival skills just weren’t his thing.

But he was equipped with the love of technology and the ability to design and build extraordinary websites. When he realized that the Boy Scout troop did not have a website, he offered his gifts to build one. That website resulted in better communications and the ability for the operations of the troop to run more smoothly. He became a hero.

And although he’d still go on the campouts to be present with his son, the other fathers were so appreciative of his technical skills that they would build the campfires and chop the wood. Being a good dad did not require excellent outdoor survival skills.

As this school year starts, I challenge you to ask yourself these questions:

What are your best and favorite gifts and skills? Who needs them? And where would you most enjoy using them?

Say yes to those opportunities....and no to the requests that don’t fit.

Hint: This approach to a balanced life works well even if you don’t have school-age children!

We each have a unique opportunity to serve. And thank goodness we don’t have to do everything ourselves.

Sue Cullen, M.A., founder of Sue Cullen & Associates in Austin (www.suecullen.com), inspires and empowers individuals and teams to reach their full potential through career, leadership and team development and life/work balance coaching. She also offers Every Step Matters (TM) workshops and retreats to help women find meaning, joy and value in every step of life.