Do you struggle with balance like I do? Here are some inspirational quotes on balance to help you along the way this week.

“Life is part positive and part negative. Suppose you went to hear a symphony orchestra and all they played were the little, happy, high notes? Would you leave soon? Let me hear the rumble of the bass, the crash of the cymbals, and the minor keys.” —Jim Rohn

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” —Anne Bradstreet

“You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose.” —Lou Holtz

“Be prepared to ride the cycles and trends of life; success is never permanent and failure is never final.” —Brian Tracy

“The seasons do not push one another; neither do clouds race the wind across the sky. All things happen in their own good time.” —Dan Millman

“Through the years I have found it wonderful to acquire, but it is also wonderful to divest. It’s rather like exhaling.” —Helen Hayes

“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically—to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside. The enemy of the ‘best’ is often the ‘good.’ “ —Stephen Covey

“Many people like to think that they’ll find balance AFTER they find success. But in reality, achieving balance IS success.” —Brian Koslow

Perseverance is about as important to achievement as gasoline is to driving a car…Without it, you won’t even be able to start your engine. The opposite of perseverance is procrastination. Perseverance means you never quit. Procrastination usually means you never get started, although the inability to finish something is also a form of procrastination.

I’m a procrastinator. There, I said it. Although I’ve been meaning to write that phrase for several weeks now, I must admit, it feels good to get it out there. Somewhere I read that admitting your problem is the first step towards solving it. I don’t know if that’s true, but let’s think about it for a moment.

Why do you procrastinate? I know why I do – I’m a perfectionist. I used to like to say that “I’m a recovering perfectionist.” I said that because, like alcoholism, I don’t think you’re ever free of it. You have to keep working at it to stay sober, or in this case, on task. But the more I think about it I think I termed it that way because a “recovering perfectionist” didn’t sound quite as bad as a full-blown, hopelessly mired, and terminal perfectionist.

Anyway – that’s why I procrastinate. You probably know the symptoms: everything has to be just right, the music can’t be too loud, the temperature can’t be too cold…or too hot, the kids have to be quiet, there can’t be any interruptions, enough time must be blocked out…enter your own requirement here. And if you start the task? It probably won’t be good enough, and because of that, the motivation to finish the project is often lacking.

Your reasons may be different; your symptoms may reveal themselves differently, but the end result is the same. The project never gets finished, the article never gets written, the phone call never gets made, the gift is never purchased, and the bill is only paid after the due date.

The renowned Jim Rohn had two very simple rules for overcoming procrastination.

Rule #1: Break it down.

In other words, no matter what you’re trying to accomplish, break down the project and even individual tasks into manageable pieces. Personally, I don’t do this well. But I understand that the key to achievement is to accomplish what’s immediately in front of you. Forget about yesterday and ignore what’s in the future; focus on what’s in front of you at this moment.

Rohn uses the following example to make his point:

Suppose I were to ask you if you could write a 400-page novel. If you’re like most people, that would sound like an impossible task. But suppose I ask you a different question. Suppose I ask if you can write a page and a quarter a day for one year. Do you think you could do it? Now the task is starting to seem more manageable. We’re breaking down the 400-page book into bite-size pieces. Even so, I suspect many people would still find the prospect intimidating. Do you know why? Writing a page and a quarter may not seem so bad, but you’re being asked to look ahead one whole year. When people start to look that far ahead, many of them automatically go into a negative mode. So let me formulate the idea of writing a book in yet another way. Let me break it down even more.

Suppose I were to ask you: Can you fill up a page and a quarter with words, not for a year, not for a month, not even for a week, but just today? Don’t look any further ahead than that. I believe most people would confidently declare that they could accomplish that. Of course, these would be the same people who feel totally incapable of writing a whole book.

If I said the same thing to those people tomorrow—if I told them, “I don’t want you to look back, and I don’t want you to look ahead, I just want you to fill up a page and a quarter this very day”—do you think they could do it?

One day at a time. We’ve all heard that phrase. That’s what we’re doing here. We’re breaking down the time required for a major task into one-day segments, and we’re breaking down the work involved in writing a 400-page book into page-and-a-quarter increments.

Keep this up for one year, and you’ll write the book.

Rule #2: Write it down.

In other words, keep a written record of the things you do and the places you go. Note: not what you want to do or where you want to go, but the things you actually do and the places you actually go. You’re basically keeping a diary of your activities.

The beauty of this technique is that it will cause you to see the distractions and detours that lead you to wasting time and getting nothing accomplished. Rohn says that “the great thing about keeping a time diary is that it brings all this out in the open. It forces you to see what you’re actually doing—and what you’re not doing.”

He goes on:

The time diary doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. Just buy a little spiral notebook that you can easily carry in your pocket. When you go to lunch, when you drive across town, when you go to the dry cleaners, when you spend some time shooting the breeze at the copying machine, make a quick note of the time you began the activity and the time it ends. Try to make this notation as soon as possible. If it’s inconvenient to do it immediately, you can do it later. But you should make an entry in your time diary at least once every 30 minutes, and you should keep this up for at least a week.

There you have it – two simple rules: Break it down, and Write it down. Simple – yet powerful techniques to break the grip of procrastination in your life.

Why not try it? But don’t wait until next week; start now. Happy accomplishing!

I have a dear friend who is a counselor Michigan. While he counsels in many areas and for many conditions, his specialty is “grief counseling.” What makes this man so special and effective is that he knows and understands first-hand what it means to suffer loss.

On Mach 10, 1989, his life was forever changed when a drunk driver hit and killed his wife and three children. My friend, Jerry Walden, is a special man. God has helped him to take this incredible tragedy and use it to help hundreds and thousands who are going through grief and loss. Did God cause this? No! But God never wastes anything. And he has helped Jerry help others experience the same healing and grace that he himself has enjoyed.

Recently, the Flint News did an expose on Jerry, his life, and what he is doing to impact others. Check it out. It’s a good read!