Not a new book, but certainly a “timely” one, Dr. Richard Swenson's book Margin, reminds us all that we need time in our lives for ourselves, our families, and, most importantly, God. Do you ever see a commercial that features an individual or family just relaxing, playing together and feel just a little bit jealous that you don't have the time to do those kinds of things? If so, according to Dr. Swenson, you lack margin in your life.
We all have a tendency to “over-commit” ourselves. For some reason we believe we have to be all things to all people and that saying, “no” is not an option. Dr. Swenson points out in his book that in order to have a healthy and satisfying life, we all need margin. Lack of margin in our lives results in pain; pain from stress brought about by the constant need to do more, get more, be more. We commit to so many projects there is no time left for ourselves, our, family, or God. We are driven by anxiety over debt to work more hours, accomplish more.
In order to overcome the lack of margin, Dr. Swenson tells us that we need to make changes in our lives; some of these changes may not be easy. We need margin in at least four categories: physical energy, emotional energy, time, and finances. To accomplish this we will most likely need to adjust our goals. We will need to consciously decide to say no to certain work projects, we may need to adjust our life-style so that we can once again live within our means rather than within our credit limit, we need to remind ourselves that just because there are emails, voice mails, text messages waiting for us – they will still be there tomorrow.
As with any book, especially one that focuses on making changes in your life, you may not agree with everything Dr. Swenson has to say, acting on the principles of this book could just change your life for the better!
