The Four Major Areas Of Life You Should Be Focusing On

Over the years, I have determined that there are four major areas in my life that I need to focus on and ensure are in balance for me to be able to give the best version of myself to the world. There are other areas which are also important, but these four areas are my rocks, the ones that have the biggest impact on my life. If I can get these four areas in alignment with my values and purpose, everything else seems to fall into place around them.

Today’s blog is sponsored by the Expedition of Men Podcast - A podcast that explores ideas, swaps life stories and paves the way for a fuller, more self-aware life.

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Health & Fitness

The reason I have put this one first is that, in my opinion, it is the most critical. Health and fitness is about taking care of our bodies and ensuring that we are in a physical state where we can function optimally. Health is the one thing that is linked to every aspect of our being. If we don’t have our health, we have nothing. It doesn’t matter if you have the most amazing job or best relationships, if we aren’t healthy, none of that is going to matter.?

This is why I constantly check in with myself to ensure I am living a lifestyle that is going to allow me to be as fit and healthy as I can be. It’s not about being obsessive about weight or looks, it’s about understanding my body and how it functions best. The food we eat, the physical activity we are doing and the stress that we are under, all contribute to this. It’s about remaining disciplined with the little habits each and every day, as they will ultimately stack up and allow me to live the way I want to live, not limited by sickness or injury.

Some of the ways I remain fit and healthy are:

• Cold plunge every morning
• Strength training 2–3 times per week
• Play sport all year round - football in winter, tennis in summer
• Intermittent fasting
• Eating a wide range of healthy, unprocessed foods
• Listening to my body and relaxing, recovering and recharging when needed

Wellbeing

For me, wellbeing is about ensuring my mental health is the best it possibly can be. Like your physical health, wellbeing is critical for our day-to-day functioning. I believe there is a big correlation between physical and mental health, and the more we can improve one, the better the other will be. You cannot pour from an empty cup, and so it is our responsibility to ensure our cup is full before trying to fill others.

Wellbeing is about investing in yourself, setting boundaries and understanding what you need in different moments of life. We live in a world where we are always ‘busy’. Just ask someone, “How have you been”, and most people will use the word “busy” in their response. We often let life run us because we have set the right structures in place to allow us to do the things that fill our cup. I have learnt to prioritise the things that fill my cup and have found that I feel so much better when I do. I’m far from perfect and know there are definitely times when this is out of balance, but by constantly checking in with myself, I can self-correct.

Things I prioritise time for:

• Writing
• Reading
• Working out
• Spending time with my partner
• Spending time alone
• Spending time with friends and family
• Recreation time - golf, camping, hiking etc.

Relationships

We are a species that thrives on connection with others. Myself, in particular, I love being around other people and sharing amazing experiences together. From playing sport with my mates on a Saturday, to running errands and doing stuff around the house with Soraya on a Sunday, most things are better when done with others.

The main relationships in my life are with Soraya (my partner), my family and my friends. Investing time into each of these is critical to ensuring they stay as strong as they can be. There have been times when I have taken these all for granted and just expected that they would be there forever. What I’ve learnt is that you need to constantly feed and nourish each of these relationships that are important if you want them to survive. We can’t just expect others to make the first move or be the one who stays in contact with you, if we want the relationship to last, we have to take the lead. We need to prioritise these relationships that bring us energy – you know the ones I’m speaking about, these are the ones where you walk away feeling energised, fulfilled and looking forward to seeing them again. We need to have more of these types of relationships and cut out the ones which leave us drained, depleted and feeling obligated.

If you’re in a romantic relationship, what I’ve learnt from previous relationship experiences is that you can just get comfortable. You stop challenging each other and growing together and start to just hit the repeat button constantly. I’m now a big believer in challenging the norms and trying to do new, exciting and different things together and prioritising these times on a consistent basis.

How I prioritise my relationships:

• Have a fortnightly family night with both mine and Soraya’s families
• Have fortnightly date night where we try and do different activities
• Connect with the friends on a periodic basis to ensure those relationships still remain strong.

Career

Career for me is more than just about the job I am doing or the business I am creating. It encompasses learning and personal development. I am a higher achiever, so for me having goals to work towards or things I’m trying to accomplish is important. I am constantly upskilling myself in a range of areas – whether it’s business development, video creation and editing, finance or design skills, I’m always wanting to improve and add more strings to my bow.?

I never want to feel like I’m not growing, both personally and professionally. But there also needs to be a balance between work, personal development and fun / relaxation. There are times when I get caught focusing too much of my time on growth, that I forget to stop and enjoy life. Adventure is a big value of mine, and ensuring I have enough time to explore, whether that’s taking time off to go camping or ensuring that I can continue to play footy, I need to protect this.

But for me, I need to always ensure what I am doing career wise is bringing me satisfaction and enjoyment. I don’t want to rock up to a job every day and be counting down the hours until I get to go home. I’m constantly reflecting on what I’m doing to ensure I don’t find myself in a place where I feel stuck. Furthermore, I would prefer to earn less but have more time to do the things that I enjoy, because at the end of the day life is about living, not about working.?

Summary

For me, if I have all these four areas of my life in balance and feeding me positively, happiness will be the outcome. If, however, just one area of these is out of whack, then problems can start to leak into other areas of life. One way I constantly ensure that all areas of my life are in check is by completing a 90-day review. I have written a blog on this previous which goes into more detail, you can read it HERE.

Ultimately, I want to live a life that gives me purpose, happiness and amazing experiences. Check in with yourself to see the areas of life that are most important to you and see how you’re going with each of them.??