Are You Really Free Or Are You A Slave?

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• Tags: achievement, balance, Children, comfort, Debt, free, Freedom, slave, Success, work

Living life to the fullest is an incredible balancing act.  It is like walking a high-wire at the circus.  It takes a lot of practice to get things just right.  If you lean too much one way or another then you’ll lose your balance.  The trick is to find that equilibrium between the hard work that produces achievement and slowing down enough to appreciate the present.  When we locate this fine line, then we have found our balance and the place where we can experience higher quality, more meaningful living.

Long weekend was a chance to reflect on balance in life.

Over this weekend, I did a lot of thinking about balance in my life.  It is easy for me to get caught up in pushing myself to achieve more.  I pressure myself and create stress that wears me down.  In some areas of my life I am a borderline perfectionist.  I want everything to be exactly right.  This creates unnecessary anxiety that spills over into other areas of my life and affects them negatively.  The crazy thing is that I do this all to myself.  It is my attitude that creates this tension.  I make myself a slave to achievement which steals my freedom to enjoy what I have today.

What are you a slave to?

Is there an area of your life that dominates and steals your ability to live life to the fullest?  We can become so focused in one direction that we lose sight of the big picture.  We forget what we are truly striving for.  We need balance between achievement and leisure to truly get the most out of living.  Let’s examine some areas where we might have let ourselves become slaves.

1.  Are you a slave to work?

Of course, this is the easy one.  In America, we often let ourselves become a slave to our work at the cost of family and leisure time.  But, we might think, “I’m not a workaholic because I don’t spend 60 hours a week at the office.”  However, we do sometimes bring it all home with us in our minds.  I’m guilty of this.  I stress myself out at work and then have a hard time relaxing at home.  It takes me a day or two of time off just to unwind.  About the time a normal weekend is over is when I’ve finally unwound enough to start enjoying my family.  This is improper balance.  I’ve made myself a slave to my productivity at work.

2.  Are you a slave to approval?

This one can easily go with being a slave to work.  We often get so caught up in seeking the approval of others, that it costs us the joy of living.  We worry so much about what others think about us and our achievements that we forget to enjoy it ourselves.  We all want praise for a job well done, but if you are so focused on what other’s might say or think about your accomplishments that you drive yourself and everyone around you crazy trying to get it perfect, then you have become a slave to approval.

3.  Are you a slave to debt?

Are you living beyond your means because you want more than you can afford?  Debt is a sign that our lives are out of balance.  We have assigned more value to our possessions than what they truly deserve.  We think that things will bring us happiness so we spend, spend, spend, but all that really comes are bills from Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.  Of course, the debt often stresses us out, creates strife, and forces us to overwork to pay our inflated monthly expenses.  If this rings true to your situation, then you are a slave to debt.

4.  Are you a slave to comfort?

Sometimes, the pendulum can swing too far in the other direction.  We can allow ourselves to become lazy and completely unmotivated.  We become a slave to comfort and leisure.  We fail to invest ourselves to become all that we have the potential to be.  We sit in front of the television all weekend watching sports or old movies instead of getting up and living.  Our children want us to play, but we resist to rest.  We could be reading a book or learning a new skill, but instead we are out on the golf course.  Leisure time is nice, but it has to be balanced with results-oriented action.

5.  Are you a slave to your children?

Many adults have let their children completely take over their lives.  They are consumed with running their kids to their next activity.  They have ballet on Monday, karate on Tuesday and Thursday, piano on Wednesday, and soccer tournaments all weekend.  When you multiply this by two or three children, then it gets really crazy especially with school and church mixed in.  Becoming a slave to our children is not healthy either.  Our children are obviously important and need our attention, but we need time to focus on ourselves so we can feed our own needs for achievement and leisure.

6.  Are you a slave to substances?

When we have lost balance in our lives we often turn to substances like caffeine, alcohol, and drugs to help try to cope with our imbalance.  Of course, these things just compound the problems.  We drink coffee all morning to get ourselves going and then need alcohol or prescription drugs in the evenings to try to relax.  This can become a downward spiral that can lead to some serious addictions.  Any substance that we need to function on a day-to-day basis has become our master and we are it’s slave.  You may want to seek professional help if you have a serious problem with drugs or alcohol.

Balance is the key to freedom.

Seeking balance for a fulfilling and complete life takes effort.  It is a continuous process that is never finished.  We have to constantly evaluate ourselves to see where we might be off track.  When things are just right, then we are happy and productive.  We are also contributing to the happiness of those around us.  Everything seems to just click.  We enjoy true freedom when we break the chains that enslave us.

Is there balance in your life?  What makes you a slave?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Photos by joxin and Ende