In today’s fast-paced world, it’s all the rage to juggle multiple roles — being smart, attractive, a parent of several, running three businesses, catching up on sleep until noon, hitting the gym, squeezing in some shopping during work hours, enjoying cultural outings, traveling, and of course, maintaining an active blog.
Yet, surprisingly, it’s often individuals like these who come to me pondering: “I seem to have everything, but I’m still not happy. Why is that?”
Why indeed?
We’re all driven by a desire for growth, personal development, and social recognition. We crave financial stability, meaningful relationships, a fulfilling family life, and exciting experiences. We map out these aspirations during coaching sessions, only to find ourselves burning out like a workhorse come harvest season. And even when we tick off all the boxes, life somehow feels incomplete.
Here’s the crux of it: the social sphere — encompassing career, finances, relationships, friendships, vacations, and family — constitutes just 25% of our existence. That means even if we max it out, we’re merely scratching the surface. Whether we admit it or not, we sense that something’s amiss, leading to the classic conundrum: “I’ve got everything I could want, yet I feel like jumping out the window.”
To truly embrace life and live it to the fullest, we mustn’t overlook the remaining 75%. Our lives pivot on four levels — physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual — each carrying equal weight.
Physical
This is our well-being — not just the physical aspect but also our mental health. Neglecting it not only hampers our social success but also impedes spiritual growth. After all, it’s hard to embark on new endeavors with a nagging sense of anxiety or meditate when plagued by back pain. So let’s not procrastinate addressing our internal struggles or disregard our body’s signals.
Social
True harmony here begins with familial ties. No matter how driven we are, success here hinges on relationships, starting with those who brought us into the world. Ultimately, social success thrives on our ability to forge and maintain meaningful connections. It’s often not the brainiest who triumph but those adept at fostering the right relationships. Hence, harmony demands not just hard graft but also adept communication and a robust self-imagel
Intellectial
This isn’t about IQ, the number of books read, or academic degrees. It’s about wisdom and discernment. True wisdom lies in setting and achieving goals, knowing one’s life’s purpose, differentiating between temporal and eternal truths, maintaining mental composure, understanding emotional cues, and honoring one’s authentic self.
Spiritual
While all levels matter, this one transcends them all. Ignoring spiritual development jeopardizes the others, leading to an unfulfilled life. The crux of life’s purpose lies here. Neglecting this means squandering half one’s potential. Spiritual development isn’t confined to monastic seclusion or prolonged prayer; it’s about aligning with life’s higher purpose, which in turn shapes progress across the other three levels.
In essence, any disparity among these levels — be it fixating on one or neglecting another — bars us from experiencing life’s true joy and richness.
So, which level tops your priority list, and which one deserves more attention?