Checks and Balances

You do the right things, you make the right choices, each a "check" on your list of life. You run out of time, you get distracted, you run into unforeseen circumstances, and suddenly, you haven't checked all the little boxes.
 
If life were a list of little boxes and check marks, I'd probably do a lousy job at it. For while I might make lists, I rarely check the boxes one by one. While I might have goals, I rarely accomplish them in a straight line or on an assigned schedule.
 
Luckily, there is balance to go hand-in-hand with the checks. Sometimes, checking off one box doesn't work with checking off the others. Sometimes, as worthy (or exciting or lucrative) as a goal might be, that goal doesn't balance well with the rest of life. You find that accomplishing a goal that elevates you, but leaves you off-balance, isn't good for anyone.
 
I imagine we all struggle with checks and balances daily. Is a job high-paying enough or satisfying enough to take us away from our families? Is the security of where we are more important than the excitement of where we might be? Have we done all the things on our list--checked them off--and are we more balanced or less because of it?
 
Sometimes I wish I were better at the checking off. I do. Whether exploring all options or doing chores or making decisions--just putting all those little checks in those little boxes would probably be satisfying. Perhaps some day I will be better. Or perhaps I will decide that maintaining balance, which is often even harder, is actually a little more important.