Family first

Today, a client asked to reschedule a meeting, because their daughter was sick and had to be taken to the doctor. Of course I said, “No problem, family comes first.” I say this quite often in these situations, but this time it got me to thinking about the value of family.

Let’s be honest, at times they can be a pain or even a burden; demanding spouses, taking care of elderly parents, always worrying about the kid’s health or work, etc. What comes to mind is the adage that running a global business is easy, raising a teenager is hard. With family, you experience your lowest of lows, but you also experience the highest of highs.

No high can compare with having a lifetime partner who you trust with anything or when your son tells you, “Thanks for being such an amazing influence in my life.” Wow…that’s an indescribable high.

Yes, family can be a pain, but I guess it is all worth it. Because family often falls into the important but not urgent category, we have a tendency to allow the demands of our career and life in general to take precedence and slowly, but gently push the family into the background.

I urge you to fight this tendency and bring family matters into your urgent schedule. Take the time out of your complex, busy day and talk to, share with and be with a family member to experience more of the highest of highs.