Balancing the Big Three

There are three things that need to be balanced in order to ensure a happy life. Each of the big three need to be maintained at all times and none of them can be neglected. If one slips, everything will most likely suffer. I speak of this because Brazilian Jiu Jitsu plays a most important role in one of these major life elements. Here they are:

1. Personal development: This is where you take care of yourself and make your self better internally. To improve myself personally, I train in BJJ, exercise, read a lot, play, and work on personal tasks that sharpen my mind intelligently and creatively.
   
   
2. Family/Friends Development: We all need to be supported and need a home base to come back to to share. If my wife or son are unhappy, then you can bet that my unhappiness is sure to follow. And the same goes for friends; those relationships need to be taken care of in the form of hanging out, sharing experiences, and aiding when needed. All this takes as much work as personal development.
   
   
3. Professional Development: This can be literally related to the generation of cash for labor. All focus in professional development should only be aimed at generating wealth. Of course skills must be developed to get more and more, but skills development falls under personal development. The better your skills, the easier it is to put them to work for more wealth. Do I enjoy running my companies? Sure, but not at the expense of my family, friends, or personal development. But, again, there must be a balance because my business allows me time for the other two.
   

So why the life pep talk? Because if you are reading this right now, you probably train in BJJ and it is important that you understand this. Just like you should never let your training slide, keep an eye on the other things that matter. As you can see by the picture above, in 2001, I weighed in access of 215lbs because I concentrated too much on business, less on family, and very little on personal development. As a result, my life was not so good; I had man boobies for Christ's sake! So I have experienced what can happen if balance is broken and it isn't pretty.

It took a great deal of effort to put everything back in proper order and it is easier now that I understand what is required to maintain the big three. Just do not fall into the life unbalance trap, because it is hard to escape once in it. Personal, Family/Friends, and Professional development. Keep training as well no matter how tired or sore you are, because that is a major element to keeping everything together. Trust me, I know.

Ous.