The Search For Balance in Modern Times
“Nobody said it was easy.”
Chris Martin sang that. I don’t really know much about Coldplay besides the hits and the Joe Satriani thing. However, for me there’s magic in that little melody as it shakes hands with the lyric. It has always stuck in my mind and is well utilized as I feel the waters rising around me and the inevitable phrase coming to the fore — “I’m swamped.”
If I were forced to label my experience in modern times today, I would choose the term “noisy”. Everyone and every thing is talking all at once, particularly on social media. How do I keep up with all these notifications on my phone? Do I really need to “like” your status? How the hell did a telemarketer get my mobile?!?!
The torrent of data we are all strafed with at any given moment can feel stifling. With all the ways in which the world can send information at you today, it feels nearly impossible to gain a sense of balance. I can’t say I have any great answers but what I can do is share what I’m working on in hopes that it connects with and inspires others.
Here’s What I’m Trying…
The way I’m going at this signal-to-noise problem is by being committed to continuously refining my priority…yes, I mean that in a singular sense.
I’m in the process of reading “Essentialism — The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown. It’s offering great insight into the search of greater signal and less noise. Here are some gems I’ve gleaned along the way so far:
- “If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.”
- “The ability to choose cannot be taken away or even given away — it can only be forgotten.”
- “We can try to avoid the reality of trade-offs, but we can’t escape them.”
- “Play doesn’t just help us explore what is essential. It is essential in and of itself.”
- “An Essentialist produces more — brings forth more — by removing more instead of doing more.”
One of the great examples McKeown uses in the book has to do with corporations listing their “top 10 priorities” and unwittingly demonstrating their lack of understanding of what a priority actually is as a result. Up until the Industrial Revolution, a priority was “the first or prior thing” and singular in its very nature. “Priorities” then are a dilution of the term and have the tendency to lead us toward the perilous belief that “doing more is better”.
I’m implementing the ideas in this book by clarifying a single priority in each of the intersecting circles of my life. I’ve come to define these circles by the roles or responsibilities they inhabit. If one’s life is a play, these circles could be considered different characters who compose the narrative of your life.
Here’s how I’m currently defining my intersecting circles & characters:
- Family-Man (love, attention & support for loved-ones)
- Partner (collaborating with high integrity)
- Rainmaker (creating opportunities for new business)
- Artisan (executing on a skill-sets to provide valuable services)
- Money Man (the intelligent management/movement of money)
- Artist (creative expression with the intention of connecting with others)
- Developer (self-awareness, self-development, self-renewal)
Each character has a different contribution, a different time and place in my life to come to the fore if you will. There are some days where one role entirely dominates and other times when I’m inhabiting several roles at the same time. Some roles are by their nature quite noisy, yet others I find filled with signal.
If I take the promise offered in Essentialism as such —to remove that which is unnecessary so you can have a greater chance of a breakthrough on that which you deem necessary —my mission then is to clarify the singular priority inside each of these roles and simultaneously block everything else which steals focus.
The next logical question one must ask: “what do you do when your roles conflict?”
A great question indeed, one I will allow empiricism to help me answer with more clarity in time. Do you have issues with productivity? Any suggestions on what works for you, what doesn’t? I’d love you to share your thoughts on productivity below after clicking recommend and sharing with your friends.
