Feeling out of BALANCE?

Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Wayne Cordeiro, Senior Pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship Church speak on Leadership and the issue of balance.

While his talk was directed towards church leaders - much of what he had to say can apply to those of us who are in business for ourselves.

The good and bad news of having a home based business is that often it can be easy to feel like you are out of balance. When you are working your business, you feel guilty because you are taking time away from your family. When you are with your family, you feel like you should be working. Personal time, especially in the fall can be at a premium and so it gets ignored completely.

Pastor Cordeiro spoke of the importance of being aware of what fills and what drains your emotional tank. That if you push and push and push, too hard, for too long - eventually your body will be drained of endorphyns and you will find yourself running on adrenaline. This recipe for disaster was the predicament he found himself in several years ago and actually ended up under a doctor's care because he had burnt himself out to the point of complete physical and mental exhaustion. He described himself as a “Dead Leader Running”.

His suggestions are practical, doable and to the point:

Be aware of what fills and drains your emotional tank and write it down. What makes you feel most alive is what fills you.

Think about:

Who am I with?

What am I doing?

Where am I doing it?

The busier you are the MORE you must increase what you do to fill you because if you get too busy to FILL UP you will drain your tank - this is suicide!

Ask your spouse to write down the same list and then exchange lists - it is so important to know one another in this way.

Understand BALANCE in life and the principle of the fulcrum - life and business/ministry and family and business/ministry aren't separate. All are part of each other and sometimes balance happens when you move your heart (fulcrum) more towards one or the other. In other words, there may be times in your life when there is a need to give your family more of your time and energy and the same holds true with your business. The idea that you will be completely be able to operate 50/50 is not realistic.

Learn to lead out of REST. When filling out your calendar, schedule your REST points first and then fill in the work time.

FIND your lightening rod. This is a trusted friend who you can dump stuff on - and they will GROUND it. They listen, don't judge and keep whatever you have said confidential. He also recommended that this person not necessarily be your spouse.

Finally, he stressed the importance of “Disciplining your Daily Devotions.” Once again, beginning the morning with a quiet time is crucial for a day that is in balance. You may have to get up 15 minutes earlier than you planned - but a daily quiet time for reading, prayer or meditation is vital in order to establish and maintain balance in your life.