Are you feeling burnt out, run down, defeated all the time? Or worse, are you bored, not fulfilled and feeling inadequate as if life is somehow passing you by? Why is it so difficult to keep balance in all areas of our lives, physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, financially, professionally, etc and keep everyone happy and get everything done that needs to get done and spend time with our children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews. Phew! I'm out of breath just typing that run on sentence!
First of all, you will never keep everyone happy. I know you know that, but it's another thing to actually live like you've accepted it and walk accordingly. You will never keep your spouses, bosses, friends, family etc happy all the time. You will let people down.
What/who are your priorities in life? That should be a natural extension of your faith. If you are a Christian, it should be God first, your spouse next, your children/family 3rd, your employer/business 4th, friends, etc. and so on. Not to say I have all the answers, but based on experience, if those are out of order, it's easy for the rest of your life to become so. I'm also not here to preach at you, just to help you focus to get some of the basics down. If you do agree with me, why? If you don't, why not? It's important you understand why you make the decisions you do and not just because someone told you that's the way it should or shouldn't be.
I'm not sure how priorities would work in other religions, but I would say, if oxygen masks drop in the airplane, you need to put them on yourself first before you can help anyone else, right? Same in life. You need to make sure that what gives you oxygen for your life, likely your faith, your creator, is given the rightful priority. If I know I'm being true to what I have been called, chosen to do in this life, then I trust the "pieces" will fall in pleasant places. Or let the "chips fall where they may".
If, once I've determined an order for my life and I am doing my best to meet commitments that fall in that order, while still getting adequate food, water and rest, then I am doing the best I can and I can't be overly concerned about what is being left undone.
If you are spending 90 hours a week working, your family is severely suffering as a result. You probably have no friends to speak of, so undue pressure may be put on your coworkers to meet that need, your spouse and children are feeling very distant and as a result, you're feeling guilty. Or the reverse may be true. There may not be sufficient work at your job to keep you busy 30 or 40 hours per week, but as jobs are scarce to come by as of late - you're trying to appear busy to the average onlooker, or worse, your boss. In many cases, your boss knows however and doesn't want to lose you in case things pick up.
Finding a balance is key. Sometimes you need to walk away from jobs for those reasons, and trust that the right one will fall in your lap at the right time. Choose your priorities well! Ah, but I have bills to pay, I may lose my house. So, downsize! Now, while you can call the shots. What are your priorities? Do you know?
I've given you suggestions of what they could be above. What do yours look like? How do they line up with who you are and the goals you've hopefully determined for yourself on my last post? Try to bring some of these things together. What does it look like?
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