Finding Balance

Major Improvement Goal 1

Through all of the many experiences we have discussed throughout this Leadership Portfolio, I believe that my ability to find a balance has become much more effective. When starting the Leadership Certificate Program, I was having difficulty in finding a balance between the many priorities that I held. An underestimation of my time commitments along with the continuously changing requirements made things difficult. Since this was set during the first third of my college career, I have used the Leadership Certificate Program to help me develop further.

Focusing less on the “small” details along with not stressing out about irrelevant challenges has helped me find a better method in managing the different aspects of my professional life and personal life. I find that when I allow myself time to reflect and relax at least one day a week, my performance is substantially better. Even times when I do not have a full day available, I make at least half a day free.

Re-prioritizing and eliminating non-beneficial activities has also helped. When starting my college career, I thought that political science would be something of interest to me. From this I took Political Science 100 and joined the Political Science club. Once I discovered that was not my particular area of interest, I dropped my activity with them. Patience is a virtue, but I also believe that balance is also a virtue.

College has allowed me to accept challenges beyond what I thought were possible. From these challenges, I have grown and become a much more effective leader. The challenge of balance can be very difficult to find, but the benefit of finding the right ratio, is not only the result, it is the knowledge of the process to find the result. I believe that I have been able to fulfill and relatively master this goal.