Thursday, October 02, 2008

Life Plan: Balancing Love In Your Life

I have to ask you, do you have enough love in your life? I mean "love" in the broadest terms. Take a minute to do an inventory. Your list might include:

--lover
--wife, husband
--partner, significant other
--children
--parents
--siblings
--friends
--pets
--members of communities related to work
--members of communities related to faith
--members of communities related to sports, leisure

That should be a starting point. Now you want to add two columns -- giving and getting. Next to your list of people, make a note about whether you're giving enough; then come back and assess if you're getting enough, it's okay to feel a little selfish about this.

Be honest, think about how much love you're giving, how much love you're getting from these sources. You might notice something's out of whack, out of balance. Do you put less and less time into your primary relationship? Do you give lots to your lover, but feel there's little given to you in return?

Are you a great "giver" and volunteer of your time and energy at your church, but don't take the time to get the support you deserve? Is your pet the only "person" in your life who's really "there" for you?

Are you giving too much time to everyone at work? Do you miss the guys you play basketball with on Saturday mornings? Is your poker night taking up too much time, energy, leaving you tired, broke, hungover?

Mark the "out of balance" relationships with a red marker. Change them.

Photo Credit: Jan Stewart