How to Resolve the Myth of Having It All?

Time changes and so should our beliefs. Trying to resolve the issue of having it all in life is worth considering. Brian Dyson, the former CEO of Coca Cola company used this nice analogy. He asks every one of us to imagine his life as a game of five balls. He elaborated, “Imagine your life is a game of 5 balls joggled in the air. These 5 balls are work, family, health, friends and spirit. You are keeping all of them in the air. But one day, you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball if you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls – family, health, friends, and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of them, it will be shattered and won’t be back.”

Related: Why Now is the Time to Design Your Own Life?

The proponents of having it all say that juggling all those 5 balls is possible. They assert that balancing those values can be maintained through managing your time effectively and prioritizing what is important to you. Those supporters are more into Science.

On the other extreme we find those who say that you can’t have it all in life. Namely, concentrating on one ball by nature takes energy that prevents us from taking care of the other aspects. They are more into Art.

The resolution as I can see it is to get the best out of the two worlds. You can have it all qualitatively but you can’t quantitatively. Should my 5 values in life – the things that matters to me most – are in the areas of health, wealth, relationships, career and spirituality – they all got to be focused on. Still, one element will take the greatest portion of my time; the other four should be achieved in less time but in more attentiveness. Suppose I am a working mother, spending less time with my children should be “qualitative”; namely, giving them my undivided attention and being totally present.

Having it all in life has passed through two extremes. One extreme states that you can have it all in life; just be positive. The other extreme says you can’t have it all, as we are human. But the third viable alternative is that with a combination of awareness, strategy and time management the impossible is possible and unthinkable can become a living reality.