Do We Ever Find Balance?

I often find myself struggling - struggling to find "balance" in my life.  How do I balance out my life?  I feel slammed - overwhelmed quite often.  Drilling down, I do my best to juggle married life, raising children, doing well at work, finding time for myself, etc.

The Balanced Man

When I was an undergraduate at San Francisco State University, I joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.  It was a tremendous experience - one of the best of my life.  In addition to promoting Virtue, Diligence, and Brotherly Love, Sig Ep focused on being "The Balanced Man."  We always bragged about this - "We are balanced men."  In retrospect, I was anything but balanced.  I didn't make the Dean's List until my final semester at SFSU and quite frankly, could have been a far better friend to many, son to my parents, and brother to my siblings.  Not trying to sound hard on myself, but I didn't live up to the motto of my fraternity.

Here I am now, 44 years old, engulfed in "real life," and still feel unbalanced.  How do I find time to go to the gym without feeling guilty that I am not spending time with my wife and kids?  How do I get all of the work done that I need to accomplish without cutting off friends and family?  How do I make sense of all of the immense information available to us and share with others as a way to move things forward?

I guess I will always struggle to find balance.  I am human.  Humans are creatures of habit.  I need to form better habits and be a better example for those around me.  New Year's resolution?  Yeah, right.  Mind over matter.  Stay consistent.  Stay focused.  I think I can do this.  Are you balanced?