James Smith’s Info Serv

Author: Gerard O’ Donovan

It’s Work / Life Balance Awareness Week from 1 to 6 September. Are you keeping your life in balance? Are you tired of the frenzied, highly demanding age we live in – the constant pressures brought about by the wish to succeed, be financially secure, fit and healthy, sociable, a good partner and parent.

As self-employed, freelance writers and journalists, chances are you never switch off. When you get a commission, you have to do it sometimes at very short notice to meet the deadline. In particular, you may have to cope with the challenge of juggling family and work demands, trying to maintain a work-life balance, which if not achieved can be extremely detrimental to your physical, mental and emotional health. Most people are interested in a higher quality of life. Life where you have more time for yourself and your relationships, with more energy to invest in emotional, physical and spiritual well-being

Coaching can help you find the work/life balance. As reported by the British Journal of Administrative Management, coaching ‘takes a holistic view of the individual’ ensuring that work, corporate values, personal needs and career-development are made to work in synergy and not against each other.

Borne out of the competitive pressures of today’s economy, as well as the struggle to find balance in the frantic pace of modern life, personal life coaching is now rapidly attracting devotees worldwide. Chief executives, entrepreneurs, professionals, people in career transition and many others grappling with life issues are all turning to this new tool to guide them through life’s difficulties and help raise them above the ‘fog’ to the clear heights of peace and self-satisfaction.
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Author: Jeff Evans

With every great gain comes a loss.

In my change work, I hold to the belief that change is easy and fast. I often have people push back and challenge that. Over and over I find that it is the associated loss that people usually fear. This is the thing that often gets overlooked, minimized, or ignored in change efforts. You may even see cases where people really want the change to happen, but find themselves faced with a major sense of loss. Here are five major areas of loss I have experienced in my practice.

Loss of Control

Responsible people like to have some sense of control. That is control of their environment, control of their work, control of their destiny. In work settings, people want to be able to control the important aspects of their work flow. Loss of control can mean unsatisfied customers, unmet performance goals, or loss of product quality.

Loss of Status

As you all know, every job has its own special status. A change often threatens that. Even when people move into a change that can be perceived as having more status, it is not uncommon that one might feel a pang of loss of the unique status they had before. For instance, the operations manager who moves into the role of General Manager might miss the more personal relationships in the old job and the status as an immediately available expert.
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Ever notice how striving for more can leave you bloated or overextended, depressed, imbalanced, and wondering, “Is this all there is?”

Perhaps this is an occupational hazard of a deep commitment to learning and growth. There is so much to know, so much to experience, so much to accomplish! Trying to do it all can foster a gnawing hunger that belies the fact that our minds and stomachs are full, and by trying to do even more our life balance is lost. If constant striving is not the answer, what is?

I suspect the answer has to do with devoting at least as much time and energy to developing our capacity and as we do to accruing material goods, information, or accomplishments. In other words, we need to make room for enough. For noticing when we have enough. For noticing when we are truly hungry or truly curious. For noticing that we are enough, just the way we are.

Making room for enough is the first step to achieving and maintaining a balanced life. We make room for enough when we sit in the dentist’s office simply noticing the present moment instead of diving into a magazine.
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Imagine - You walk into a beautiful lobby, filled with colorful flowers, peaceful colors and a light scent of lavender. The receptionist takes your coat, shows you to a changing room and hands you a thick terry cloth robe and slippers that you change into. You pass the sauna and steam room as you leisurely make your way to a chaise lounge close to the hot tub by the indoor pool. Someone offers you a cup of hot tea while you wait for your massage appointment. You sip your tea and listen to the quiet and then – You Wake Up!

Can you see yourself relaxing like this? Maybe not! We all have such hectic and stressful lives these days that even imagining taking time for ourselves kicks the guilt trip into gear. With obligations to children, spouse, work and family, taking time out for you probably seems like a luxury for another life.

But the truth is, you need to take care of yourself before you can really do your best taking care of others. By taking care of yourself first, you create an internal balance allowing you to create more space to help others. Nurture yourself first so you know how to nurture others.
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by: Michelle L. Casto

The World Health Organization has called stress a modern day epidemic affecting every person of every culture, educational status, and financial level across the world. Too much stress is the reason we end up sick and burned out. We know there must be something more than the hustle and bustle of modern-day life and yet forget to take the time to find our unique sense of balance.

Gandhi once said, “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” This is even more true in the modern world. It is essential then that you discover what will bring you a harmonious and balanced lifestyle. There are many ways to bring more balance to your life. Here are 10 ways I have found that work, which should get you thinking of even more uniquely suited to you.

1. Have Faith in a Higher Power

Voltaire once said, “Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.” Having faith in a higher power helps you face even the darkest hours. Faith gives you peace of mind and an open heart. It lights the dark tunnel and allows you to walk forward courageously.

Action Step: Choose a favorite inspirational quote about faith and put it in your wallet.

2. Assess Your Life
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