There’s a bizarre character in the M. Night Shyamalan movie Lady in the Water. He’s a bodybuilder who only works out one half of his body. As you would suspect, he looks like a young Arnold Schwarzenegger on one side and Pee-wee Herman on the other.
I rightly laugh at that ridiculous picture, but how often have I taken the same approach in my own personal development routine? I may work hard to expand my mind but ignore my body. Or be in peak physical shape but neglect the health of my soul.
I think a foundational building block of personal development is balance. I’m not saying that every area of my life is of equal importance. For example, I’d rather be emotionally healthy with average intelligence than a depressed genius. That said, I believe working on myself as a whole will yield more satisfying results than a hit or miss approach.
So what are the areas of my life that I should be paying attention to? The answer to that question may vary depending on the person, but here are the top 5 areas that I monitor in my own life (in no particular order):
1. Physical health – eating right, regular exercise, getting enough sleep (for more see my Temple Health post here)
2. Mental health – playing brain games at lumosity.com, reading challenging material, thinking critically on important issues
3. Emotional health – watching movies, playing music, expressing creativity, taking a weekly Sabbath
4. Relational health – time with family and friends, meeting new people
5. Spiritual health – prayer, silence and solitude, time in nature, appreciating beauty
There are also what I call “second tier” areas that, while not as important as my top 5, still merit attention:
1. Financial health – giving to causes I believe in, saving for the short term & retirement, staying out of debt, enjoyment spending
2. Occupational health – having a meaningful career that I enjoy, having an appropriate work / life balance
3. Organizational health – effective time management, a balanced & sustainable schedule, a decluttered home
When I’m feeling depressed, grumpy, stressed or generally out of whack, I try to step back and do a quick mental review of these areas. It’s usually pretty easy to see which ones are out of balance and need a little TLC. Having this checklist not only helps me find a way out of my funk, it gives me a gauge to measure my progress on my personal development goals. It helps me become a better version of myself.
How about you? Which of these areas are feeling out of balance in your life? Choose one simple thing you can do in those specific areas to give them some attention. If you do, you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.
I got a phone call from my sister the other day. We had a long, wide-ranging conversation about everything from the challenges of raising teenagers to how to have a relationship with God. Several times during the call, I suggested books that had helped me in a few of the areas we were discussing. She seemed genuinely interested in hearing about them.
HABITS: 
SPIRITUAL: 
MENTAL: 
SERVING: