From the Bottom of the Bucket

          “Role Gravity”

One of the central themes of this blog has been that if you allot your resources between the Roles you play in your life; it will lead to a balanced outcome and increase the possibility that your sense of fulfillment will heighten

But life is not always equal in its demands on your resources.  As much as we try to allocate, in a purposeful manner, the resources we have available, there are times when certain Roles require more attention than normal.   This has two effects.  First it diminished the Vigor Activities which provide the necessary fuel to fulfill your Roles and second it takes away time from the Activities associated with the other Roles. In real life, that is just a fact.  So how do you achieve balance when life pulls you out of balance?

The first step is to realize you are out of balance.  Your body will probably tell you this long before your mind notices something is amiss. That is one reason why exercise is so important; it adds strength to your body’s endurance.  Another (more analytical) way is to simply refer to your Activity Goal sheet (see below) and note any deficiencies.  The most common circumstance is when life presents you with an acute situation that must have your full attention.  In this case you must forgo Balance for a while and center yourself in the issue at hand.

One of the helpful resources at times such as these is Relationships.  Having someone that you can talk to is a tremendous help.  If you have not invested the time and energy to build a solid, intimate relationship with such people, you are going to feel the cost of that at times like these.   Stephen Covey calls these resources The Emotional Bank Account and like a real bank account, you must make deposits in order to have the ability to make withdrawals. The time for doing that is before you need to call on that resource. Hopefully you are allotting some of your Energy in building this valuable resource.

It is also meaningful to try to devote some time, no matter how small, to your other Roles so you don’t become disconnected from them.   During these moments you may find an idea that helps solve the issue at hand.  If you are working hard at being a son or daughter, try spending a bit of time as a sibling or a spouse.

Above all, you must seek the path back to the center of Balance.  It may take longer than you would like, but your course my always be heading in that direction.  This will increase your Vigor and build your confidence.

Until next month, I wish you fulfillment.

Bob