Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

If you were to look at your life like it was a large scale – not unlike the so-called "Scales of Justice" – you can see that when you put too much effort into one area of concern, the scale becomes unbalanced. Too much of one thing throws the other side into turmoil. People who focus their attention and energies on one side to the exclusion of other pursuits, can find themselves feeling stressed, apprehensive, or frustrated about their lives.

Take a look at some of the areas that affect your life and see if your personal scale balances properly. Ask and answer these questions as they relate to you:

Physical Health – How is your overall health? Do you feel energetic, illness and pain-free most of the time? Are you relying on drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or caffeine to mask physical or mental pain symptoms?

Mental Health – How is your attitude? Positive or negative? Do you feel happy and content with your life, at least most of the time? Do you experience any lingering feelings of apprehension, fear, or anxiety with regard to the other balance factors that are a part of your life?

Family Relationships – Do you have a strong family bond with the members of your immediate family? Do you feel happy and safe in your home? Do you receive love and support from the people who are closest to you?

Love Relationship – Are you involved in a love relationship with someone? Does this person help to make you feel better about yourself? Are you content in this relationship?

Professional Life – Are you happy with your present career position? Do you feel satisfied that your job will give you the chance to grow and develop, both as a person and professionally? Do you get along well with your supervisors, colleagues and peers? Do you like most of the work tasks you do each day? When you tell people what you do, is it with a sense of pride?

Social Relationships – Do you have a few close friends who you can rely upon? Are you able to share your thoughts and feelings with these close associates? Are you able to make friends easily and establish social relationships of various levels?

Notice how far down the list your job appears? There’s a good reason: Ask yourself if you "work to live" or "live to work?" If your honest answer is that you only live to go to your job, then you need to rethink your life priorities. As you scan this list of life balance points, notice in yourself or others that if certain areas become obsessively important, each of the remaining ones suffer from neglect.

Stop and look at your life as a whole. "All things in moderation" as the old proverb tells us. Do what you like to do, enjoy life as you want, but keep things in balance by devoting your energies and attention to your physical, mental, family, love, professional, and social areas. Careful attention to each of these factors can help satisfy you in so many ways that your work life will thrive and your professional goals will become real.