May 2, 2009
The Secret to Staying Balanced, Part One
by Charles R. Swindoll
Most likely this year, you've already poured a lot of energy and effort into changing unhealthy habits. Because we're all creatures of habit, we find ourselves having to face the hard truth that many of those habits we have formed were not good for us. We have not only been eating the wrong things, we've been eating too much of everything! Furthermore, due to busy schedules and a host of responsibilities, we've not maintained the discipline of consistent physical exercise. To make matters worse, most of us have a work environment that is more sedentary than active, which also works against us. Changing all that requires a lot of effort!
Now that we're engaged in replacing unhealthy habits with wholesome ones, it would be easy to discount the importance of rest and relaxation. It's what I often call "the problem of the pendulum." We tend to swing toward one extreme (staying constantly active) in order to counteract the other extreme (being a couch potato). We think: "Now that I'm into this great diet or exercise program, it's time for me to get with it---day and night, week after week!" Or, to use an old expression often said by type-A, neurotically driven personalities, "I'd rather burn out than rust out!"
How stupid is that? Either way you're "out"! Go figure. That makes no sense at all!
Because one of our major goals in becoming healthy is balance, the need for giving our bodies and minds a break is just as essential as maintaining the disciplines of eating right and exercising regularly. Keeping that balance means that those of us who occupy leadership roles need to guard against trying to do everything ourselves. The secret in one word is delegation.
If you're a workaholic, chances are good that you have trouble sharing your workload. And because, truth be told, you can do the job better than most others, you'd rather work longer and harder than run the risk of it not being done as well as you can do it.
Believe it or not, there's a story in the Bible that addresses that very real problem head-on. It's found in Exodus 18. Here's a suggestion. Stop right now, open your Bible, and read that chapter . . . I'll wait.
. . .
Isn't that a terrific story?! It's a classic example of proper delegation---the secret to staying balanced.
Reprinted by permission. Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Purchase "Day by Day" here.