Fans of writer Stephen King will remember one of his main characters in The Shining repeatedly typing the phrase, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” It’s a phrase that serves as a good reminder to us in our “get to work” world.
We struggle with “work-life” balance as leaders. The people we lead struggle with it too.
If we don’t take some regular time off for rest, renewal and recreation, we will become boring and bored. Life is more than a one dimensional existence.
Do you have some outside interests that restore your depleted energy? When we take time to recreate our creativity is “re-created.” Our energy is renewed.
I recently attended the funeral of a 90 year old man. His was a life well lived. On the altar at the front of the church his family placed some personal mementos that symbolized his life. A Pittsburgh Steelers cap, an American flag and a worn tennis racquet stood as gentle reminders that there was more to his life than the 9 to 5.
For people in the United States, today is the celebration of Veteran’s Day. It’s a great day on many levels, the greatest of which we celebrate and remember the millions who have preserved our freedom in America. One of those freedoms is the pursuit of happiness.
We won’t take today for granted. If you are fortunate enough to have the day off we’ll use it to do something fun and remember the price that was paid to allow us to do it.
Igniting Hope 4 Leaders 
I trained as an Occupational Therapist over 25 yrs ago. During my training I had to write an essay on the importance of a balanced life style. I cant remember what I put in the essay but I got an ‘A’ (so must have been good:-) The thing is 25 years on (and still an OT) my life has become so unbalanced I feel like I am being ‘turbo boasted’ from one day to the next. I have sadly let life events take me over instead of me taking control of my life events. I know I need to be making time for myself but to do that something has to give…the problem is I cant see what can ‘give’ in order to make space. May be I should get out that old essay and read my own words of wisdom 🙂 Any tips would be appreciated.
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It is a daily challenge to get our schedules under control to make sure we have time for ourselves. I try to reserve time in each day for doing things I enjoy, even if it means letting some “more important” things go. Thank you for reading and commenting!!
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