Richard Swenson wrote a book called Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical,
Financial & Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives. A printed page has a column of blank space
along each side of every page. We need
some blank spaces in our lives; margin the space that we need between ourselves
and our limits. Do you allow yourself
some free time each day?
We have a tendency to fill up every part of our
schedules. Our days and nights are full
of work, meals, conversations, phone calls, texts, emails, news, interruptions,
appointments, etc. So there’s a tendency
to fill up the blank spaces in our lives.
The problem with this is that when a crisis comes up, it pushes us
beyond our limits, and then we suffer from stress overload. That’s what leads to heart attacks, divorces,
angry outbursts, high blood pressure, broken relationships, etc.
If your life is filled to the edges of your schedule,
and you find yourself exhausted at the end of every day, you’re probably trying
to do too much. You need to develop some
margins in your life – some blank space or free time between you and your
limits. What can you eliminate from your
schedule? What can you say No to? Does that team or committee really need you? Do you really need to work overtime so
often? How can you free up some time to
relax and unwind?
I’ve learned to say No to some things, so that I can
maintain enough margins in my life.
Keeping some empty space and time around the edges of your life, will
help you to keep your sanity.
