I struggle with finding balance in my life. I'm driven, performance oriented and competitive. Those traits don't mix well with balance, but I understand that without balance in my life, I tend to focus on the urgent and forget to take care of the important.

I've heard someone say recently that balance is overrated. Throw caution to the wind and, as the romantics would say, "carpe diem." But what a balanced life ultimate offers all of us is the ability to look soberly at our circumstance as well as to where we are headed. Balance tells us that we are working too hard, or neglecting loved ones, or that we are not spending enough time and resources to those who cannot help themselves. A balanced person looks at the dashboard of his or her life where the physical, emotional, spiritual and relational gauges tell a complete story.

It's easy for me to go full throttle on performance-driven areas of life life professional and even physical and neglect the others. But we were created to live balanced lives and when we don't, there's always a price to pay. Often it's a much greater price than we ever thought.

I am writing this post mostly as a reminder to myself that I must take a sober look at all the gauges of my life even those I often neglect.

How do you create balance in your life?