| Do you spend a lot of time doing things you | | | | |
| wouldn't choose to do, if you had a choice? | | | | To accomplish balance, Dr. Kaye recommends |
| Perhaps your life feels out of control or | | | | taking responsibility for your own life. He |
| maybe you hate your job. If you've nodded | | | | argues that if you don't know what you want |
| your head at all, your life is off balance. | | | | and what your purpose is, others will decide |
| But it's your choice: you can find balance | | | | for you. To avoid this, Dr. Kaye recommends |
| before it's too late. | | | | sitting down with paper and pencil to answer |
| | | | these questions: |
| Chicken or Egg: Identifying the Causes | | | | |
| | | | - What kind of person am I? |
| According to Merriam-Webster Online | | | | |
| Dictionary, imbalance is "the state of being | | | | - What do I intend to be? |
| out of equilibrium" and stress is "a | | | | |
| physical, chemical, or emotional factor that | | | | - What do I expect will happen? |
| causes bodily or mental tension." | | | | |
| | | | - How do I want to live my life? |
| So does stress cause imbalance or does | | | | |
| imbalance cause stress? Both. And neither. | | | | Once you answer these questions, you can move |
| While they feed off one another, there are | | | | on to make positive choices in your life, |
| common underlying reasons for both. | | | | including positive career choices. |
| | | | |
| The Federal agency NIOSH (The National | | | | Good Career Choices Matter |
| Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) | | | | |
| identifies work as a major culprit of stress. | | | | Can you be truly happy if you're working at a |
| In a recent report, NIOSH revealed, "The | | | | job that makes you miserable? Mike Heuring, |
| nature of work is changing at whirlwind | | | | Director of Career Services at the University |
| speed. Perhaps now more than ever before, job | | | | of Montana, Missoula, thinks not. The reason? |
| stress poses a threat to the health of | | | | We spend a lot of time at work, often |
| workers and, in turn, to the health | | | | spending more waking hours at work than at |
| organizations." | | | | home. For this purpose, when advising |
| | | | students, Mr. Heuring suggests: "figure out |
| NIOSH posted a survey by Northwestern | | | | what you want to do based on your skills, |
| National Life, in which 40% of workers | | | | abilities, values and interests, then find a |
| reported that their jobs were "very or | | | | major that will train you to be employable in |
| extremely stressful." Northwestern National | | | | your chosen position." |
| Life's study also revealed that one-fourth of | | | | |
| employees rate their jobs as the number-one | | | | Even if you're already well into years in a |
| stressors in their lives. | | | | job, it's not too late to start a new career. |
| | | | According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor |
| In an informal survey of my own, I asked | | | | Statistics, people, on average, change |
| forty people to identify their main causes of | | | | careers more than three times in their |
| stress. I found similar results to the NIOSH | | | | working life. And there's no rule saying you |
| survey. The mains causes of stress were as | | | | can't change careers more often. Life is |
| follows: | | | | short. Do what makes you happy. |
| | | | |
| 1. Work | | | | Ms. Buell worked for seventeen years in the |
| | | | corporate world before becoming a |
| 2. Money | | | | professional life coach. Her desire for |
| | | | better life balance eventually led her in |
| 3. Personal Relationships/Home | | | | another direction. For Ms. Buell, the best |
| | | | way to achieve balance was in finding a |
| 4. Too little sleep | | | | career that helped others find their balance. |
| | | | |
| Work and money, receiving the most votes, can | | | | Your Turn: Find Your Balance |
| have a rippling effect, creating difficulties | | | | |
| in other areas of your life. For instance, if | | | | Finding balance takes work. If it seems like |
| you're unhappy at work and/or worried about | | | | too much work make a change, remember that |
| money, it can take a toll on your personal | | | | time is limited. Dr. Kaye has a vivid memory |
| life (#3) and on your sleeping patterns (#4). | | | | of a relative, before dying, muttering to |
| | | | him: "It could have been so different." Dr. |
| Asking the Hard Questions: Eliminate the | | | | Kaye finds this tragic, and in his work, he |
| Clutter | | | | sees many people heading for this. "They live |
| | | | on autopilot, just letting things happen. |
| What do you want from life? What do you need? | | | | They have no goals, make no plans, and get no |
| What could you cut out? Linda Manassee Buell, | | | | results. All they have are a lot of |
| professional life coach and founder and owner | | | | unfulfilled dreams." |
| of Simplify Life, finds that most people who | | | | |
| come to her are simply too full. "They have | | | | So in the end, it can be tragic to remain in |
| filled their lives to overflowing so that the | | | | imbalance. In "Simplify Your Life: 7 Simple |
| first thing they have to do is start with a | | | | Strategies for doing what you love to do," |
| process of eliminating." | | | | Ms. Buell maps out how to avoid this: |
| | | | |
| As a starting point for eliminating, Ms. | | | | Define a simpler more satisfying life: |
| Buell advises to "go through each day and | | | | |
| notice or keep a list of anything that is | | | | - Eliminate energy-draining tolerations |
| 'draining' your energy." Whether it's the | | | | |
| clutter on your desk or your overcrowded | | | | - Decide what you want your life to look like |
| schedule that doesn't allow for exercise, Ms. | | | | |
| Buell believes that clearing the clutter can | | | | - Understand your financial picture |
| help you achieve a healthier life balance. | | | | |
| The goal is simple: clear out what you don't | | | | - Create a life changing plan |
| want to make room for what you do want. For | | | | |
| some, clearing the clutter might even make | | | | - Develop your own supportive community |
| stressful jobs more tolerable. For others, | | | | |
| their job IS the clutter. | | | | - Have fun and enjoy your life |
| | | | |
| More Hard Questions: Who Are You and What Do | | | | It's Not a Sprint! Accomplish Balance |
| You Want? | | | | Endurance |
| | | | |
| Steve Kaye, PhD, professional speaker, | | | | Finding balance does not happen overnight. |
| consultant, and founder and owner of One | | | | Remember, it takes work. "The key is that |
| Great Meeting agrees that cutting out the | | | | this is not a 'project,' something that you |
| negative can lead to healthier life balance. | | | | do quickly and it is done," says Ms. Buell. |
| Dr. Kaye is good example of balance: he seems | | | | "Creating a Healthy Life Balance is a |
| to be happy and enjoying life. Can you enjoy | | | | 'process,' something that will evolve over |
| a life that is seriously off balance? Dr. | | | | time. |
| Kaye doesn't believe so. | | | | |