(Written in 2016)
Life is like a table. Really. Not a box of chocolates.
Putting your life’s eggs all in one basket can either mean a great hatched flock or a world of disappointment if the basket drops and all content is destroyed – yes I know, that’s a lot of puns.
Many people focus almost completely on some things in life, be it work, only family and nothing else, a project, sometimes a hobby, sport – sometime it may be an obsession with a single person, i.e. a partner.
Whilst sometimes there is a happy outcome – often there is not and because there is nothing else to keep things in perspective, a very deep disappointment ensues. If there is then no rescue the failure, a complete shift in life direction is needed. If no other activity was already under way, this new focus is often hard to invent or find and is quite forced.
There are often things outside of our control, such as natural disasters, market shifts, technological advances, illness or death – preventing us from continuing on the same path.
In 1999 SAP was booming and there were many jobs on the market. The approach of year 2000 and the fear of systems breaking and SAP being a good solution, further boosted the industry. At the turn of the millennium, as year 2000 came and pretty much nothing broke, the market collapsed and very few jobs were left (in the world of SAP).
Those who were also versed in other skills such as web development, HTML, Java and so on – were able to quickly find another job.
With 3D printing (AKA additive manufacturing) advancing quickly and it now being possible to even 3D print using metal, there are fewer jobs for engineers working in the CNC (computer numerical controlled manufacturing that uses routing, milling, lathing) field.
The aerospace, automotive and medical industries are quickly adopting these new technologies.
Those engineers who have diversified in advance and learned the new 3D printing techniques, will stay employed whilst the others may find themselves redundant.
Think what will happen to HGV drivers when driverless vehicles are common place in – who knows – 25 years from now, maybe even less.
Those who focus completely on one sport, perhaps even professionally – for example on running – will be stopped dead in their tracks if anything happens to their legs.
Triathletes or other multiple sport athletes are much better to handle a sudden shift in their circumstances.
Here we’ve just looked at a few isolated specific activities such as careers and sport to illustrate the point of single or main focus.
On a higher level, if all a person has is their career or their sport, imagine the consequences of this activity ending suddenly, not through choice but for reasons outside of their control.
Over time, I’ve realised the depth of the meaning behind the phrase “life needs balance”.
If you imagine a table, the more legs it has, the more stable it is.
A one legged table is extremely unstable, almost unable to stand at all.
2 legs are not much better, either.
3 legs and we’re getting somewhere – but loosing any one of the 3 legs will mean instant collapse.
4 is pretty stable and there is some redundancy.
You see where I’m going with this.
Life is very much like a table.
If you have:
1) family or a loved one
2) career
3) sport
4) hobby
5) friends and socialising
You are quite well protected and set up to handle disasters in any one of those areas a little bit better.
The other critical and perhaps even more important point that comes out of having several activities of focus and importance in life is that you worry and stress less about each one.
Any mishaps at work just seem like a little snag as opposed to the end of the world with the imagination quickly conjuring up worst case scenarios.
Same for home life, sport and hobbies and problems with friends.
It takes discipline to keep this balance and it is always work in progress.
When family demands and requirements rise, it is often hard to maintain your hobbies going as well as making time for sport on top of work.
But it is important that we do our hardest to make time for these other activities to be able to do them all well by keeping things in perspective – the more even the balance, the better each area will seem to be.
Mind Iterations 