This statement reminds me of the time I was working with two dynamic young businessmen. In the boom years they had built up a very substantial business which had subsequently suffered greatly with the downturn of the market and they were feeling the negative effects in many areas of their lives.

To their credit they reinvented themselves and focused their talents and created expertise in a niche of the market where the saw opportunity. After much dedication and commitment their new business started to boom and they were even beginning to be regarded as leaders in that particular field with leading financial institutions. When they visited me again I was so delighted to hear the news that business was showing great signs of an upturn and I was informed that they were working really long hours because they believed that was what it took to make a success of business.

Whilst getting things done, working really long hours was having a very negative effect on their moods and was beginning to affect their health, their relationships and any joy or excitement had gone out of their business. At this point I asked them to look at time management to establish if what they were doing after hours could be managed within business hours. After careful analysis of the business activities they were engaged in late into the evenings it was decided to practice getting these all completed within normal business hours.

What seemed initially a very daunting task for the two young men has now become just part of what they do every business day and the evenings are spent creating balance in other areas of their lives. The excitement and joy of business is returning as a result of becoming aware that something wasn’t working in their business lives, finding out what it was and doing what was necessary to correct it. Correcting the balance can keep such issues from spilling over and creating negative effects in other areas of our lives.

This is why mindfulness and balance is important in everything we think, say and do as negative effects can be insidious and create unwanted behavioural patterns which we tend to practice throughout the day and dislike ourselves for doing so. Keep the balance, be mindful and be the person you choose to be.
Take care and God bless.
Tom