He explained to me, while all aspects of our life are important, without a balance, you become addicted, and like all addictions you lose —

— no balance with your family — you lose them

— no balance with your work — you lose your perspective and you actually lose focus on the important aspects of your job.

— no balance with yourself — you forget who

you are and when you retire you have nothing! Or worse than that, if you lose your job through a company sale or downsizing you lose your identity. He went on to tell me that who we

are is NOT what we do to make a living. Who we are is a balance of our family, our work, ourselves! It truly was the best advice I ever received.”

Mary took a drink of her tea and tearfully looked at her friend, “But I would never get my work done if I left at 4:30!”

Susan looked thoughtfully at her, “When you go to work on Monday, look at what you have on your desk. Make a list of everything you have to get done and beside that list write the impact of not doing it.

Then focus only on the top three items that have the most impact. Do that everyday for a week. At first, you will find it difficult to leave. But, after awhile, you will find that you will have more energy, and you will be more focused in your work because you have BALANCE! There are times when we have to lose balance — a special project at work, or a family matter at home — but consciously focusing on balance keeps everything in check.”

Mary smiled at her friend, “Thanks for talking with

me. We have been friends for so long. Thank heavens I have balance with your friendship! You have convinced me. I will leave the work in my briefcase this weekend.” — wow4u.com (concluded)