MAKING TIME FOR RECHARGE & RENEWAL®

January 30, 2025

Honoring the Principle of Balance

Have you noticed yourself or a colleague being run-down or on the verge of burnout lately? Here in the United States more so than in many other cultures, we tend to be extremely focused on productivity. In today’s business world, it’s not uncommon for high achievers to work 60-hour weeks -- or even more if their role involves travel! Yet it’s common knowledge that over time, such extended output can lead to serious burnout.

Whether you work 60 hours a week or 20, it’s important to recognize why we each need time for rest, recharge and renewal. Most adults today have many other responsibilities besides their jobs – family responsibilities being the most common added energy user-upper. When you’re always in output mode, you might not sleep well or truly rest. It’s no wonder that both insomnia and anti-anxiety medication use is on the rise!

To counter all this, let’s look at activating something I call the Principle of Balance. So many of the people I talk to have more control over their schedule than they would admit, and yet they sound just a tad like a victim when describing their work/life balance.

In our Recharge & Renewal® literature, I make the analogy that our life energy and rhythms can be compared to the ocean’s waves. First the waves crest and break, with the water rushing onto shore. That’s like our output – the active productivity cycle of our life. Then this same ocean water recedes back into its vast self for a brief time, before ultimately resuming its forward motion and surging onto shore again. The receding phase reflects the restorative part of life’s equation, when we pull back into our center and our source.

To take this metaphor one step further, we notice there are both high tides and low tides. Throughout the work year, it’s likely you have your high output busy seasons, and then at some point, you set aside time to sit back and analyze the year’s results, thoughtfully budgeting and planning for next year’s new thrust forward. By balancing out these two rhythms, it’s likely that you become a wiser businessperson.

Unfortunately, some people feel guilty about taking time out for themselves. The ocean metaphor would indicate that’s foolish! We all require R & R time and activities to maintain our balance. We don’t have to take an entire week off work for this, although sometimes that’s quite a good idea. We can put our personal batteries in recharge mode for a bit simply by listening to good music or watching a favorite show (and possibly drifting into a restful nap). Or maybe taking a walk and enjoying the outdoors and a change of scenery. Whatever works!

Now that we’ve underscored the benefits of taking time to recharge, why not apply the Principle of Balance more fully to your life, your situation? Where can you carve out a few quality minutes each day, each week for yourself? How can you begin today? The positive results may truly surprise you!

In my next podcast, we’ll take a deeper dive to look at your personal recharge mechanisms. Stay tuned!

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