Balancing Act.

If you’ve ever watched someone walk a tightrope or highwire, you know it can be downright nerve-racking to look on as they balance themselves on an incredibly thin piece of taut material and see them inch forward, one carefully placed step at a time, high above the crowd.

No thanks!

I’d rather keep my feet planted firmly on the ground. 

But, even at ground level, we often find ourselves performing death-defying balancing acts, juggling competing priorities, navigating multiple commitments, and bouncing back and forth between activities, all while trying to find some sort of happy medium in our hectic lives, knowing that one small miscalculation could bring everything tumbling down.

So, what are we to do?

Perhaps we can gain some insight from Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church. In chapter 5 of that letter, he encourages the people to be careful how they live, “not as unwise, but as wise.” Paul calls on the Ephesians to operate differently from those around them, urging them to incorporate the wisdom of God in how they live. This will allow them to rightly identify what in their surrounding culture has gone awry and what needs to be tweaked, overhauled, or even done away with. Once they can do that, they can “make the most of every opportunity” they find themselves in; honoring God and serving others.

This should be our approach as well.

We, too, are compelled to incorporate wisdom in how we live. Especially in our workplace, for the sake of ourselves and others, for it’s here that we need God’s wisdom to help us maneuver through some of the most complicated and dangerous balancing acts we perform. 

One of these crucial balancing acts involves the very drivers that cause us to thrive and excel at work. There are four of them.    

1. Drive   
2. Excellence   
3. Information   
4. Activity

These are not inherently bad. In fact, if used with wisdom, they can be assets for us to do our work with quality and grace. However, if we tap into these drivers with reckless abandon, they can quickly become threats to our work and lives. 

Over the next four days, we’re going to look carefully at each of these drivers. We’ll consider what’s good about them as well as their potential dark side. We’ll also share some practical wisdom to help you engage with them in a healthy way. 

White Space Moment

Take some time to think about the four key drivers above. What comes to mind when you consider each one? Do they bring up positive or negative thoughts? Why?