Dear Chris, Should all priorities for work and life be focusing me toward a common or end goal or can they be on two different paths? M.L.

Dear M.L., I love this question because many folks struggle with setting goals for work and life, so it can be helpful to have clarification. Life contains many spheres, such as family, friends, spirituality, hobbies, intellect, work, health, family of origin, emotions, parenting, finance and nature. Each of these life areas has its own goals and objectives, which are determined by personal desire.

Goals are the steps we take to achieve our ultimate vision. For instance, my parenting vision is to have enduring, easy, respectful, fun and interesting relationships with my children and grandchildren. That said, my goals vary according to each child and grandchild’s unique needs and personalities. Every interaction is a connection to my greater vision, and daily relationship goals are the path I travel to reach that vision.

Work is another sphere in my life. Contained within that sphere are goals that are quite separate from my life goals. These separate goals keep my business running according to my business plan. The point of intersection between work and life contain elements of my overall life vision. This overlap of work and life are where common goals are shared.

My life vision is to age gracefully with great physical, spiritual and financial health and flexibility. My life vision includes wonderful relationships with positive active people. With this in mind, then, the overlap between my work and life areas contains goals such as life balance, regular exercise, time with friends and family, and eating healthy, as well as love, respect and fun in my marriage. So if I start to overwork, the life balance ‘tilt-o-meter’ goes over and I need to make a correction. If I stop exercising regularly the ‘warning light’ comes on and I need to make a correction. In other words, whenever I get off course I get a warning, which is often in the form of guilt, stress, tiredness, crankiness, or some other negative.

While it may seem time consuming to think about and create life visions and goals, it saves time in the end because we have created a road map for our life. This road map is what holds us steady during times of crisis when it can seem that everything is up for grabs. Living a ‘cliff-notes’ version of life creates distress and dis-ease. There is no short cut to achieving a well maintained life.

To sum up: 1. An overall life vision is essential. 2. Life contains many different areas. 3. Work is one of life’s areas. 4. Each life area can have its own ‘mini-vision’. 5. Goals are the steps we take to achieve our visions. 6. Mini-visions lead us to our overall life vision. 7. Life and work overlap and share some common goals. 8. Everything is connected. 9. A life vision can keep us on course. 10. There is no short cut to good living.

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