Life is a Sum of All Your Choices

I've always been taught that life is all about choices.  If you aren't happy, if you want to take on a new challenge or if you faced with a dilemma, there are always a variety of choices available and you are in control of making the choice.

I read an interesting blog post yesterday about David Sedaris' Four Burners Theory.  The idea is that the four burners represent your family, your friends, your health and your work.  According to the theory, in order to be successful you have to cut off one of your burners. 

The idea is not that you can’t have all four, even at once: it’s that you can’t have an exceptional level of all four at once. You cannot put in the time required to raise children properly and nurture outstanding friendships of depth and be an elite athlete and win the Nobel prize in chemistry. Because to be outstanding at any one thing requires an outstanding level of focus on that thing.

Definitely an interesting thing to ponder.  I can't quite get this idea out of my head.  I've been doing my best to have exceptional levels of all four.  I do my best to be an encouraging and supportive mother, wife, daughter and sister.  I exercise and watch what I eat, try to spend time in meditation doing yoga. I work hard trying to come up with innovative ways to do my job and move the business forward.  And for Dave and I, our friendships remain at the center of our lives.  All four are certainly important to me.  I'd like to think that I have support in each area to make it all possible.  But perhaps trying to "have it all" is unrealistic.