Do you need a little balance in your life? Tired of trying to do everything standing on one leg?

I get a funny picture in my mind when I picture myself trying to get everything done hopping around on one leg. You too? It feels like the harder I try to do everything, the harder it is to see the end in sight.

What would success or “the end” of my to- do list look like? Think about this for yourself. Would we be able to move on to more projects? Would we enjoy the present moment and not wait until a time in an imagined future? Would we take good care of ourselves? What challenges would you face?

One way to look at this is to remember the 80/20 principle. This is known as the Pareto Principle, which states that 20% of what we do produces 80% of results. So, if we identify the times when we are most happy and productive (remember the 20% produces 80% of our good feelings), then we can increase whatever we are doing in the 20% category, right? Let that other stuff go. The flip side is to identify the times we are least happy and productive and reduce that as much as possible.

However, I tend to be a laid-back workaholic most days. This is not helpful when trying to find balance in work and family life. I know. I could join Workaholics Anonymous, a 12-step program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous or I could obsess about things work related, problems in living, and doing three things at once.

The answer is found in the poem, ‘The Guest House” (see above).

Welcome everything. This is what it is like to have this feeling show up, this experience linger, this thought spinning in my head.

Feel free to email me your thoughts or just say hello at patriciabrawley@earthlink.net.