Do you feel like you’re constantly juggling responsibilities in the important areas of your life and rarely feel like you can get it all done? Read on…
Happy Friday, Brew Nation!
Grab your favorite coffee cup, sit back, relax, and get ready to sip on some enriching and thought-provoking content that will equip you to thrive in all areas of your life:
- Work Hard AND Be Happy – Does work-life balance ‘exist’? Can it be defined? I must admit I struggle with the term. It is a frequent topic of discussion with clients, so I decided to look it up to see where it originated. Here is what I found:
“The concept of work–life balance is not new to our generation or unique to our profession. The idea that one should limit the amount of time spent at work dates back to manufacturing laws of the late 1800s when the work hours of women and children were restricted. By 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act established a 44-hour work week, although professionals such as doctors were assumed to be perennially “on call.”
The Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1980s brought work–life balance back to the forefront. To accommodate women in the work force, flexible working schedule and maternity leave were popularized. Initially, this concept was only for women, expected to both hold down careers and continue primary management of the family and home. Soon, these benefits and ideas were expanded to encompass professional men and women. The idea that people would want to have balance between their professional and personal lives, more flexibility in managing their schedule, and presumptively increase satisfaction from work and life became a key concept in the late 20th century.
Today, work–life balance is also a multimillion-dollar industry, and a deciding factor in choosing jobs as diverse as Wall Street bankers and physicians. A Google search for “work–life balance” brings up more than 296,000,000 results including links for tools for work–life balance, scientific articles, and consulting companies to help create work–life balance.” (Source: The National Library of Medicine)
I cannot, necessarily, ‘take a stance’ on whether work-life balance is an oxymoron or not. However, I can provide some suggestions on how to make the case for using a different word set.
One approach could be to recognize the inherent tension between work and life, and how trying to balance them perfectly can be an unrealistic and stressful goal. Clayton King used the metaphor of a symphony, encouraging us to “Think of your life as more like symphony and less like a math problem. You’re not looking for the perfect balance. You’re embracing the rhythms of the season you’re in.” This can be a more flexible and holistic approach than trying to compartmentalize different areas of life and balance them against each other.
Another approach could be to highlight the importance of being intentional about how we allocate our time and energy across different areas of life. By using the word “integration” or “equilibrium,” one can suggest that the goal is not to achieve perfect balance, but rather to find a sustainable cadence that allows us to thrive in all areas of life. This can involve acknowledging that certain seasons of life may require more attention to one area than others, but also being mindful of not neglecting other areas for too long. A season that lasts too long is not a season any more, but rather it become a lifestyle, where a particular way of living becomes the norm and is not easy to change.
So, whether we label it ‘Work-life balance’, ‘Life integration’, or ‘Pineapple’, the ultimate goal is to create a life that is fulfilling and meaningful, where work is not seen as a separate and competing part of life, but rather as an integral part of a larger whole. By being intentional and mindful about how we allocate our time and energy, we can achieve greater harmony and integration across all areas of life.
Are you aware that The Champions Brew explores various topics that I frequently coach and consult on with other leaders and organizations? If you or someone you know is seeking to elevate their business or personal life from underperforming to uncommon, I would love to connect with you and discuss 1:1 or group coaching, as well as performance consulting. In fact, click the following link to schedule a FREE CALL to explore how coaching could benefit you and your team. Let’s work together to unleash your full potential and achieve your goals!
- Read More –We are over halfway through The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication – Apply Them and Make the Most of Your Message. Each week, I travel with you through a chapter of this book. This week we review Law # 10 of 16:
Law # 10 – The Law of Simplicity
Communicators Take Something Complicated and Make It Simple
Red Auerbach, who coached the great Boston Celtics basketball teams from 1950 to 1966 said this about keeping it simple: “Our secret to success is what I call ‘effective simplicity.’ Nothing complicated. In fact, we only have seven different plays and Bill Russell touches the ball on every one of them.” The Celtics won nine NBA championships during Red Auerbach’s tenure. That is no doubt a notch in the belt of simple is better.
But let’s not mistake simple with easy! Simple is hard work. Apple cofounder Steve Jobs said, “It takes a lot of hard work to make something simple, to truly understand challenges and come up with elegant solutions.” And, when President Woodrow Wilson was asked how long it took him to prepare his speeches, he responded: “that depends on the length of the speech. If it is a ten-minute speech, it takes me two weeks to prepare it; if it is a half-hour speech it takes me a week; if I have as long as I want to it requires no preparation at all. I am ready now.”
John Maxwell talks about three (3) areas help simplify communications:
- Clarity – His benchmark or standard for himself is that if he can’t communicate to an eighth grader – who can then turn around and explain it to someone else – then it’s not simple enough.
- Brevity – You don’t need a long time to say a lot:
- The Lord’s Prayer contains only 56 words.
- Abraham Lincoln used only 268 words for the Gettysburg address (maybe that is why I was able to memorize it in 6th grade!)
- It took only 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence to get our whole country started. (Don’t even get me started on the state of the legislative bills being put out by Congress today!!)
- The shortest inaugural address of any President? 135 words by George Washington in his second address
- The longest address was by William Henry Harrison whose inaugural speech had more than 9,000 words. It is important to note that he did it while standing in the rain and he caught pneumonia and died shortly thereafter!
3) Focus – There is a reason that TEDx speakers are kept to 18 minutes or less – FOCUS!
Listening to great communicators should be like having a great dining experience. Great chefs use only the best ingredients, and they concentrate their flavors. Each element of the dish is distinct. Nothing essential has been left out, and nothing extraneous has been added. The result is something intense, surprising, and deeply satisfying.
To me, that sounds like a meal I would want to eat, and a speech I would want to listen to! As you communicate, less is better, not easier. Focus on Maxwell’s three areas – Clarity, Brevity and Focus to improve your message dramatically.
Quote of the week:
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you are the pilot.” – Unknown
What You Need to Do:
Call to Action: What area of your life right now are you neglecting due to a ‘busy’ season at work? Is it your health? A relationship? Your personal development? Set a target date for yourself to get out of that busy season SO THAT the season doesn’t turn into your lifestyle. Need help with accountability? Set up a FREE COACHING CALL with me.
It’s an honor to be your trusted “Friday Coffee Guy”. Each week, I’m excited to provide yet another round of curated content that I’ve been reading, listening to, watching, or thinking over. The purpose of the Champions Brew is to inspire, equip and encourage you to become the uncommon leader you were designed to be. I am so grateful for your decision to invest a few moments with me! I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Champions Brew. If you did, I would appreciate it if you would share it with someone who might enjoy it as well and ask them to subscribe! I will make sure they automatically get this email every week.
Until next time, Go and Grow Champions!
P.S. – Are you a podcast fan? Maybe the Uncommon Leader podcast is for you. Are you interested in being a guest on the Uncommon Leader Podcast? Do you have a story to tell? Email me [email protected] and let’s have a chat and set something up!!
