Maybe you remember the dreaded geometry class when you were in high school. I know, I hated proofs. I apologize to all the math teachers, accountants and other numbers people out there, but those things seemed pointless and bordering on evil. I do remember there was such a thing as an equilateral triangle. When I think of my life I desire to have an equilateral triangle. What about you?
There are many areas to life, but three general areas I feel I am constantly juggling are the following:
1. Personal – my health and fitness, personal growth, spiritual growth, etc.
2. Professional – all the responsibilities related to my work life and development in that area
3. Family – all that relates to leading and loving my family such as providing, leading, spending time with them, etc.
Why a triangle? If you have ever tried to stand a triangle on one point it simply does not work. Go ahead try and prove me wrong (without flattening a point). Each point of the triangle is important and creates the entire object. There also must be equality on each side of the triangle or it no longer is an equilateral object. When all things are in balance life works much better. The reality is we rarely, if ever, maintain perfect balance in these three areas.
Two concepts from author Steven Covey help to evaluate how I am doing in each of these areas. In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Covey provides two critical concepts that relate to keeping the triangle equal:
1. Begin with the End in Mind – The following question comes to mind when I think of this concept: what do you want people to say about you at your funeral? When we have a clear picture of our purpose that helps us to use the time in our personal, professional, and family lives wisely.
2. Put First Things First – are we putting those things that matter least in front of those that matter most? Are we living with the end in mind? To further detail this concept Covey provides the following diagram to help us prioritize our life.
|
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NOT IMPORTANT | IMPORTANT |
| NOT URGENT | NOT URGENT & NOT IMPORTANT | NOT URGENT & IMPORTANT |
| URGENT | URGENT & NOT IMPORTANT | URGENT & IMPORTANT |
The challenge many of us face is spending a disproportionate amount of our time in the bottom right on the urgent and important work. For example: time wasters, busy work, trivial work, etc. To create balance in each area of our lives we need to spend time in the top right on the Not Urgent and Important. Activities such as relationship building, exercise, healthy eating, planning, preventative maintenance, etc.
Living a life of intentionality and purpose takes time and effort. How are you doing at this? Do you know your purpose? What quadrant do you spend the most time in? What needs to change? Who can help you create the equilateral triangle so you aren’t constantly emphasizing only one area? Don’t try to change everything at once. Take the first step and change one habit. Build a team around you to hold you accountable and you can live a better balanced and more intentional life. Hold yourself accountable and post your first step below. Good luck!