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Even my best sales pitch for self-reflection as the key to pursuing life balance doesn't convince everyone. If you are still on the fence, then consider this: self-reflection is the best way I know to minimize worry, fear, anxiety, pressure, and stress. Who wouldn't want that? Not only are these emotions distracting and unproductive, they're also unhealthy.

Once you're worrying about a problem, it's too late: worry has already set in. As you worry, you feel fear and anxiety, and then the pressure and stress start mounting. The solution is not to wait until you're in the middle of a problem or, worse yet, that problem has become a crisis. Rather, you want to increase your awareness and identify all the things that could happen in a given scenario and how you'll respond. Then, no matter what happens, you'll know what to do because you've thought it through in advance.

No one can avoid problems—they are inevitable. It's not a matter of if, but when. You won't know the timing or the details, but you can be assured that at some point you'll face challenges—personal, professional, or both.

Figure 1.1 is an illustration I use in my classes.

I have yet to meet anyone whose life just constantly gets better and better. The reality is we experience ups and downs, a series of high points followed by low points—we hope with an overall upward slope. You can plot the highs that you've already experienced—those events you look back on and say, “That's when life was going really well.” And you know those low points you've gone through, when life was difficult because of disappointments, losses, and setbacks.

Figure 1.1 Your life trajectory will never be a straight line. Rather you will experience many ups and downs along the way.

As you look to the future, you know there will be more high points and more low points to come. Given that realization, you know that when things are going great, it's only a matter of time when some problem or challenge arises. The only question is how you will react.

With the benefit of more than 40 years of self-reflection, I know that when things are going well, I will be grateful and enjoy the moment. I will thank everyone who helped make it happen. I will find a way to really take in those good times and make them special: have a party to celebrate—even getting little crazy with a case of Chablis and some baby shrimp. However, before the party ends, I will ask myself what I will do when (not if) problems and challenges arise. That's when I know I will do two things: the first thing is, no matter what happens, I'm going to do the right thing. The second is I'm going to do the best I can. There's an enormous assumption here, of course: what is the right thing to do?

To prepare for that inevitability, all of us need people we can rely on who share our values. They are our sounding boards for helping us discern the right thing to do, especially if their perspectives are different than yours. (And, in the same way, you'll be a sounding board for them, too.) How do you find these people? They're among your family, friends, colleagues, and associates.

Let's say you've been working with someone who seems to be a self-reflective person. You make a point to invite this person to lunch and have a conversation about what's most important to him or her. You share a little about your sense of purpose and how you find meaning in what you do.

It takes me about 15 minutes of conversation to figure out whether someone is self-reflective or not. People who think deeply about things, who go beyond what's obvious or who don't view everything as “what's in it for me,” really stand out from the rest. These are the people you want to have in your inner circle, who will accompany you on your life journey and help you when you get off track. Even asking someone, “What matters most to you?” will give you insights. It's not only what they say, but how they say it. Do they answer as if they've thought about this before? Or is the concept completely unfamiliar?

Your sounding board isn't just for crisis response. Getting and giving input within a close group of people helps you maintain the balance that, as we all know, can be a moving target. And, to be honest, any of us can fall victim to rationalization. My wife, Julie, has said to me that, left to my own devices, I could convince myself of just about anything. So when she asks me, “Do you want to know what I think?” after 40 years of marriage, I know the only answer is “Yes!” Having close, trusted people as your sounding board will keep you honest with yourself.

It may be a case of having 50 things on your to-do list and believing you can magically create the time to get it all done. A friend/advisor who knows you well can point out the obvious: there is no way you can do all that you say you can do, and you'll only drive yourself crazy (along with everyone around you) as you futilely try.

Or you may be increasingly aware that you're out of balance. There are so many pressures on you and priorities competing for your time and attention (often work-related), and you just can't see a way forward. Guilt, frustration, exhaustion, and a general feeling of being overwhelmed may convince you that balance is impossible. But someone in your circle can give you an outside perspective, often from his or her own life experiences when faced with similar pressures or situations. Just knowing that someone had the same challenges and found a way through them can be greatly encouraging. Moreover, that person can help you find ways in which to experience more balance, to make choices, to give yourself permission to say no to what isn't a priority, and to find a way back to the center.

There may be times, too, when your life gets out of balance and you can't (or won't) see it. You say that something is important (family, health, etc.), but your choices reflect the exact opposite. Someone close to you can give you the reality check you need by pointing out that your words and actions aren't aligned. You're trying to project one image, but your actions display something else—in the most extreme, you've become a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story. That kind of feedback can be a wake-up call that gets you back on track quickly, living the kind of life that is true to who you are and what you value.

Research shows just how important these outside perspectives are. Tasha Eurich, an organizational psychologist and researcher, observed that just asking yourself why you did something (or failed to do something) is not sufficient because many people do not have access to their unconscious thoughts, feelings, and motives. To help them discern their behaviors and why they behave the way they do, Eurich writes that people need to seek out “honest feedback from loving critics.”¹ With this outside feedback and perspective, people can see themselves more clearly, which increases self-knowledge along with self-awareness. This kind of feedback, plus regular (ideally, daily) self-reflection by asking yourself probing questions, greatly enhances self-awareness.