I recently saw a picture of President Barack Obama on social media. He was sitting in the office of Air Force One, wearing a flower lei. There is a sugary, brightly colored tropical drink close to him and he is on his lap top. The picture was taken in December, 2013, during the first family’s Christmas vacation to Hawaii. The picture, along with several others from the vacation and a brief synopsis of each, was originally featured on USAMorningPost.com. The idea behind the feature was for the family to be more transparent with the American public; that’s not a bad thing. However, the picture on social media was trying to convey a bad image of the President and his family. Now, please stay with me, this is not a political article; I have no political affiliations at all. The picture was trying to shame the president and his family for taking a holiday. In fact, after doing some research, I found a website called The Conservative Treehouse.com that published their own rendition of this photo. The author was talking about how, void of the fact that the first family was vacationing in a rented house and just so happens to live in the White House, they are homeless. I don’t understand the correlation either, but I’m also getting a little off track. That picture and the negative meme someone concocted inspired this article.
Let’s go back to the image of the picture: the President, a leader, is sitting in his office, surrounded by snacks, fruity beverages, wearing a flower lei, and on his computer. We don’t know if he’s doing work on that computer; this is only speculation, but I do know one thing of leaders: even on vacation they find it hard to not work. So I ask you this: when you are on holiday do you still reply those work emails, perhaps do a little paperwork, or answer that job related phone call? I have been guilty of learning new music and choreography, doing research, and putting together specific workouts for clients while on vacation. Here’s another question to ask yourself: would you live where you work, work seven days a week, never fully shutting off from work mode and never take a vacation? Absolutely not! The only people I know who do that are our soldiers when they are deployed, but even those brave souls get a two week R&R. So what am I getting at here? Balance. The President was on blast for finding balance with his and his family’s life by taking a break from the job (even though that job is never fully on break), school, and home. Why would anyone find it appropriate to slam someone for finding down time?
There are many aspects to being a positive and effective leader. Authors Kouzes and Posner of The Leadership Challenge compiled a list of characteristics of the admired leader, whom one would follow, from extensive research. The top three billings are of one who is honest, forward thinking, and competent (34). Being a teacher of mindfulness and the many facets of practicing mindfulness in life, I am constantly being reminded of how powerful practicing balance is. I see far too many people overwhelming themselves with work, social activity, and their thoughts. I hear people complaining of their heads spinning, their hearts always racing, then, at the end of the day, they crash. We use the term “crash” so lightly and often it doesn’t carry much weight, but a crash is a bad thing. Well then, what do we do? We have to create the balance in our lives; it’s up to us and no one else. Every single day we have to schedule the time to shut off from work to connect with ourselves. This is something that we deserve to do. Have you ever noticed the word “serve” is in deserve? We spend so much time serving others; turn it around and serve yourself! To take better care of others, we must first take care of ourselves. This is not a selfish act. This means getting high quality rest, eating nourishing foods that energize the body and make it feel good, finding a few moments of silence, and moving the body somehow every day. Try this: after lunch, or any meal, sit there and be still. Lean back in your seat, allow your head to rest on something, if you can, to give your neck muscles a break. Use that time to connect on social media, read an article about one of your interests, or send an email to a loved one. These are low energy activities and might be what you need to keep you going through your day. Balance.
Raise your hand if you want to follow a leader who is frazzled and exhausted. Do you personally know someone who is like this? Do they make good, sound decisions? Do they speak or communicate clearly? Are they easy to work with? Maybe it’s yourself you need to ask these questions to. If you are a leader, ask yourself these questions every few months. Be real with yourself though; there’s always room to improve your skills and find balance. Ask people for feedback on how you are performing as a leader; it may be hard, but it is important. Ask what you are doing well and how you can improve. Self-reflection and self-inquiry help one to improve as a leader, but also create balance by looking within, rather than always looking out.
So what can we take away from this? Take a holiday and be fully committed and present to that holiday. Don’t give in to work detail. Make time daily for yourself, your family, your loved ones, and hobbies. I think this is a very significant thing to say: no job is more valuable than your health, happiness, or your family! Find balance by sleeping adequately and eating nutritious foods. Here’s something to think about: when we start incorporating balance into our daily lives, we may find some resistance or misapprehension from the people in our lives. It can be hard relating this balance paradigm at work, especially if our bosses or coworkers don’t see the worth in taking a few quiet moments to ourselves. Then we just have to sell the benefits that will come from our new-found practice. If we convey to our naysayers that taking a short walk or closing the office door and turning down the phone for a handful of minutes will perk us up and help us make clearer, more meaningful decisions at work, those people are more likely to be supportive. You may inspire others to do the same, which could change the work culture into a more positive environment. Should you be met with discouragement, you have every right to stick to your guns and take care of you! This is your life you live, no one else’s; make it a great life.
Elephant photo by: Ilya Zomb