Click Here to Return to Blog Post
As someone who completes a time card each day, I’m often reminded…what does the “life” side of my timesheet look like? Where is my quality time and energy going? Am I giving the highest priorities from my personal mission the best and most time? These can be tough questions, but I find that I need to constantly be asking them of myself, so I don’t have regrets later…
In his book Anchor Man, Steve Farrar notes that “the enemy loves to take Christian fathers and get their careers out of balance. Distraction creates distance; and distance is toxic to Christian fathers.” Farrar goes on to point out that God expects fathers to “anchor” their families for at least 100 years, passing down values to succeeding generations.
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Chuck Swindoll in You & Your Child explains, “Adapt the training of your child so that it is in keeping with his God-given characteristics and tendencies; when he comes to maturity, he will not depart from the training he has received.” When a child understands his strengths and is encouraged in them, he will be fulfilled. That is certainly my goal as a father, and one of life’s measuring sticks for my own success will be the choices my children make when they are on their own. Do they still seek God? Do they still value family? Are they fun to be around? These are important goals since our Family Mission Statement says we will strike a balance between Faith, Family, and Fun…
In balancing life’s various roles with success at work, I appreciate a quote from John Ruskin, who wrote more than 100 years ago: “In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: they must be fit for it, they must have a sense of success in it, and they must not do too much of it.”
Again, setting boundaries for how much work is too much is a key to our success in finding the right work-life fit.
I want Phillips, Craig, & Dean’s song “Nothing to Prove” to sum up my choices on work-life fit:
Live with no excuses; love with no regrets; laugh a lot and leave this life with nothing left unsaid; Make this world a better place. And when it’s finally time to say goodbye, there’s nothing to prove, nothing to lose, and nothing to hide…
I believe both my grandfather & father can say this. I aim too as well…