My priorities in seven life areas

Life balance is one of the greatest outcomes we should aspire to achieve in life. At the same time, this can be very tough to reach.

Each time you commit your energy to one thing, you are (often unknowingly) choosing to pull yourself away from something else. We have limited amounts of time and energy each day. No matter how passionately we commit to moving forward in life, none of us can accomplish all things, all of the time.

It is, therefore, important to be aware of what we are sacrificing in our attempts of getting something else. The economists would refer to this as the opportunity cost – it is what we have to give up in order to get something else.

So how can we balance out our most important life areas and still achieve our vision?

Stephen Covey once suggested that “without a clear focus on our guiding values and priorities, each of us runs a real risk of successfully climbing a very long ladder only to find it leaning against the wrong wall.”

There are seven life areas that we need to balance and spread our actions:

• Social and family relationships.
• Career and educational aspirations.
• Money and personal finances.
• Physical health, recreation and leisure.
• Life’s routine responsibilities.
• Giving back to society and contribution.
• Mental, emotional and spiritual health.

The importance that each one of us place on these seven life areas will always differ. However, when we can maintain an element of balance and focus in all seven life areas, we will achieve a healthy life balance.

Many of us can overload ourselves as a result of the demands associated with our work and our home lives, or just from the choices we make.

Achieving and maintaining a healthy life balance can be a life-long process. We have to use strategies and interventions for managing the challenges that arise in the context of our everyday lives.

The questions below have been designed to give you a balanced overview of all life areas.