Balance or Urgency (and a Trip)

Which is more important in your life?

Life’s paths are many.

During a recent restless night I found myself contemplating the relationship between balance and urgency and which has more weight in my life.

I’ve tried to keep an even keel with my activities – consulting, writing, speaking, family, outdoors, singing, community, faith… That’s a reasonably large group, and so I have to balance things. Sometimes I stand back and wonder if it’s better to keep them balanced, or apply myself more urgently.

I found my answer through a trip of sorts that morning.

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Interesting Meditation

I was awake before I needed to be, but I wasn’t sleepy. Deciding without deciding, I took the time to lie there and enjoy some contemplation before rising…

It’s important to be in balance – the corrections can cause quite a disruption. It’s also good to press forward with a sense of urgency.

My question was – had I worked to balance my life at the expense of some urgency. And if I had, was it helping or hindering me in achieving my goals.

Balance

Making the case for balance today is universal harmony and the forces that equalize things. (Clearly you know that I’m making that last bit up, but it does seem to work that way doesn’t it?)

The clichés abound:

• Balancing work and life
• Balanced diet
• Hang in balance
• Balance of power

And so, while it’s good to have specialties and such, it’s also important to be well rounded.

When one takes nearly anything to an extreme, the resulting stress can be difficult to manage. Excess food, drink, partying – these are all things that will come back around to bite one in the derriere.

Even water, the thing we all need for life, can be a problem if there’s too much – inside or outside the body.

Urgency

Supporting urgency are the chefs booted off Hell’s Kitchen – you know, the one’s that can’t seem to get anything cooked properly and on time;-)

The project can’t be completed soon enough, big enough, or with enough room for profit. Three days in the mail is too slow, and take that cell phone with you when you go to lunch so I can get a hold of you in a moment.

You’ve got to be successful, live in a great big house, drive a cool car, and vacation at the Ritz.

Just as many clichés support this proposition:

• The early bird gets the worm
• Strike while the iron is hot
• Play fast and loose
• Fast and furious

Can you really be successful if you don’t have this sense of urgency?

Life teaches

An interesting issue, no?

It fueled my thoughts as I went out for a morning run, and my inclination was that while you may not win a race without a sense of urgency, you may not finish a race without a sense of balance.

My running effort for the day was to jog to a local park and check out a path through the park that would let me work on speed intervals as the weather and conditions get nicer. Everything was going fine, until ten meters from the end of my workout.

You see, I lost my footing descending the last hill and fell on my keister – yes, I lost my balance, I was too eager to get to the bottom;-)

Balance trumps Urgency

So there it is – the concept, the analysis (sorry, can’t help myself on that one…), and the answer.

Failing to keep your life in balance will result in a misstep, an event that takes you out of your game, and may well set you back.

By all means, move forward with as much urgency as your abilities and the situation warrant – but keep your footing solid.

Me, I’ve got a lesson in hand and am nursing a sore back-side…