Finding Balance in Life

As an athlete, living a ‘balanced’ life can be difficult. Author and Life Coach, Dr.Ron Jenson, maintains a balanced life by using ‘the eight Fs.’ He encourages us to develop goals and specific categories for each one in order to authentically succeed, which is great advice! As we do this, we need to keep in mind that some areas will demand more time and effort than others during different seasons of our lives. The crucial thing is that we are aware of and moving forward in each area.

Fitness

As an athlete, this is probably a bit of a gimme. Peak performance and personal fitness are a huge part of your day to day life. Most of what you focus on and what your coaches help you work towards is higher degrees of fitness. More often than not this is the area of life that sends you out of balance! It might be worth considering fitness from a broader viewpoint and asking yourself if you are fi t mentally, emotionally and spiritually as well as physically.

Family

Family is a top priority. This is something that becomes especially true as a spouse or parent, when there are others dependant on you; but even as a child or sibling we need to think about how we relate to others and meet our responsibilities with our families.

Friendship

One of the great things about sports is the friendships and camaraderie that comes with competition. However, in this category we should see friendships as the range of different relationships that we experience in life. Intimate relationships, casual relationships, neighbourhood relationships and professional relationships.

Finance

Coming up with a finance plan can be hard when it feels like you don’t have much to plan with! But having a plan is essential over the long term to ensure you are able to hit some of those important milestones in the future. For some it might be the traditional, car, house, and kids education, while for others it might be positioning oneself for a professional career in sport. Nevertheless, without sounding like a parent, it’s worth thinking about.

Firm (or Career)

Right now, your ‘firm’ relates to your job as a student. In the future this category will include all aspects of your job (whether it be as a leader, subordinate, peer, teacher, mentor, coach, etc., or all of the above). However, what is especially important right now is that you are giving your studies sufficient time and energy! As a sportsperson, it is easy for studying to take a backseat to your sporting endeavours, which in the long run might mean you get pretty good at your chosen sport/s but you don’t get that degree you’re here for.

Fun

C’mon, who doesn’t want life to be fun?! If everything we do (including sports) is all about performance, results, and getting the job done, then we will soon find ourselves burning out, dropping out, zoning out, and failing. Make sure your life includes hobbies and enjoyable activities where you can really relax and renew yourself. Yes, go hard for those goals, but take some time out to enjoy yourself along the way!

Faith

All of us have faith commitments, or beliefs, that we hold to. These shape us significantly! What we believe and why we believe those things shape how we view the world, how we relate to other people, how we answer questions about the value of sport, and ultimately how we answer the question of our own meaning and purpose. So it’s an area worth wrestling with....

Questions to consider

  • Which of these seven Fs do you think about the most?
  • Which one do you think might be the most out of balance for you?
  • What beliefs guide you in life?
  • Have you ever considered the claims of Jesus and what that could mean for your life?

Athletes in Action has a focus on growing the whole person, spiritually, mentally and physically. To do this, we look to the person of Jesus. Have you thought about , or investigated, the spiritual aspect of life and how this may help you deal with the triumphs and challenges of sport and life?

We’re always keen to chat about the physical, mental and spiritual sides of life to help you become a total athlete!

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