Finding Balance and Other Insights from a Hiatus – BtR 143 - a podcast by Brandon Cunningham and Jerry Dugan

Finding BalanceFindingbalance is something many ofus strive to achieve in our busy, stress-filled lives. Brandon and I cannot saydefinitely that we have created or found balanced lives. We can share that finding your balancemeans recognizing there are times when you need to take a step back, then thereare times to be all-in pursuing your goals and dreams. Importance of a Balanced LifeBrandon took a hiatus from Beyond the Rut anda few other activities in his life during the summer of 2018. Life’s activitieswere pulling him in multiple directions at the same time. This episode ofBeyond the Rut podcast shares with you how you can find balance in life by sharing insights hegained during his time off.Without finding balance among work and life, your productivitydrops. Your impact drops whether that is at the office or at home with your lovedones. If you have ever found yourself overwhelmed with life events while at theoffice, you need to find some balance in life. If you find yourself checking your work emailwhile you are attending your children’s school events, you need to find some balance in life.What is a Work Life Balance?There is a growing acceptance that there is no such thing as finding balance. Life is chaotic and you just have to hold on for the ride in a sense.When you dig deeper into that belief, you findthat it comes from (1) accepting that life is chaotic and demanding and (2) youhave to decide what is most important to you in that moment and put your focusthere. Isn’t that the same thing as “finding balance?”We seem to think that finding balance is about finding some kind of zen-like,relaxed state where nothing bothers you. That is not how we would describe it atall.Elements of a Balanced LifeWork takes up about a third of our days. Atrade is made for that time and our work in exchange for a paycheck that isthen used for those five areas mentioned above. The problem with finding balance is that we often let work take over our lives. There are the 8 hours we often exchange Monday through Friday. On top of that, we commit to at least 5 hours each week to a commute for that job assuming a 30-minute commute time each way. If you’ve worked through your 1-hour lunch break regular, there is another 5 hours a week. Consider the time spent preparing your clothes for work whether you do the laundry yourself, or use a dry cleaner.At Beyond the Rut, we believe there aremultiple of circles that are important to your life. We list the Big Five asthe following:Faith – your spirituallifeFitness – taking careof yourself physically and emotionallyFamily – your mostimportant relationshipsFinances – your meansto take care of those most important to you and to do what is most important toyou.Furthering yourpersonal and professional development – this is basically the work you do andwe really wanted that alliteration to happen.Work is important. It’s how we create the incomefor the Five F’s. The trick is to first identify what is most important, andsay no to the rest. Your time is the one resource you have that is not abundant.Many things can either be reduced, removed, or de

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Further episodes of Beyond the Rut: Create a Life Worth Living in Your Faith, Family, Career

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