How Do YOU Define Balance?

When my daughter was in elementary school, my husband had the privilege of coaching her church basketball team.

Typically the season would begin with several weeks of practice to get the girls ready for competition before the first official game.

One year the team was about three weeks into the season when the players just didn’t seem to be gelling. Coach Cullen sent the girls to the bench during halftime to have a gentle but frank reminder of what was supposed to happen when the plays were called.

As the girls listened intently to their instructions, one little girl leaned over to my daughter and whispered, “What exactly does your dad mean when he says the word ‘defense’?”

Despite several weeks of practice, some of the team members did not have a clear understanding of the meaning of the basic fundamentals!! How could they possibly achieve their goal?

We’ve all been drawn to this Balance Austin community to help find balance in our lives. But I can’t help but wonder....how do you define balance? How realistic is your definition? And how will you know if and when you achieve it?

I think sometimes we can be too hard on ourselves. If our definition of balance means to have perfect equilibrium and constant calm in our lives, we’re likely setting ourselves up for frustration and disappointment.

I had the privilege of hearing financial/life guru Loral Langemeier (www.lorallangemeier.com) speak yesterday. She suggested we think of balance as a scale. But she reminded us that a perfectly balanced scale is not moving.

So perhaps we should make sure we don't strive for that “perfect” balance. We may become stagnant and stop growing.

What exactly do you mean when you say the word "balance"? If it seems impossible to achieve, what would a more realistic attainable definition of balance look like for you? And what can you do today to move one step closer in that direction?

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.