February 2008—Volume 28, No. 1

Chaplaincy Report
Live A Life WIth Margins

by Mike Reyes, UAW Local 2166 Chaplain

Because we’re at the beginning of the year, many goals are started, revised and reestablished. I wanted to write an article on goals and I started to do my research on the subject matter. That’s when my wife pulled out an article she was waiting to give me.

The article was by Dr. John C. Maxwell on the importance of having margins. He describes margins as giving a person “breathing room so that when something goes wrong—as it surely will sooner or later—the problem isn’t compounded because you don’t have an answer.”

The first thing I thought of after reading his article were our VRs at work. We use these VRs when we have unexpected absences during a year. It’s without a doubt, that management will be looking closely at our usage of our VRs when we call-in. To burn these up haphazardly will only put us in jeopardy of facing discipline because we have been absent from our job. We used to use these at will, but now we have to be careful and use them wisely. The worst thing that can happen by not using them, is we get paid January for any unused VRs. Better then some other employers who state, “Use or lose”.

Another example Maxwell went into was the world of finances. By saving for a rainy day, one has put money aside for those days that something unexpected happens. Murphy’s law would state, that when anything wrong can happen, it will. By putting some money aside, one can handle a financial problem with out it turning into a financial crisis. Making our hourly wage, one should be able to put some money aside and not live, “paycheck to paycheck.”

But margins can be used in more areas than just VRs and money. Margins can be applied to time and relationships. When you live a life with margins, you live a life in such a way that you can collect IOU’s. One doesn’t do this so they have IOU’s to collect, but so that they ‘treat others as they would want to be treated.’ If you don’t have the time for others, make it. We all live busy lives, not prioritizing is no excuse for not making the time for friends and family. Life is short, plan it that way. Margins simply help you deal with the unexpected, but making them does take some planning.

I agree with Maxwell that margins don’t just happen by chance; they must be orchestrated. A farmer doesn’t farm a crop by chance. It’s an all year round process. He does reap what he sows. If he puts little into it, he receives little. If he puts much hard work into the process, he should receive great rewards.

Maxwell states: “... it’s definitely worth the trouble and here’s why: With time, effort and purpose, margins become options. And options, in turn, give you choices, so when you experience some kind of hardship, it’s okay. You might take a few hits, and you might come away with a few bumps and bruises, but with margins the pain is often only temporary.”

“This isn’t rocket science. In fact, it’s actually very simple. If you work hard enough and long enough with margins, those margins eventually grow into options that affect your personal fulfillment and quality of life. You don’t have to work when you don’t want to work, and you don’t have to do what you don’t want to do. You get to a point where you have an incredible amount of freedom - all because of the options.“

Mary Kay Ash, the late founder of the cosmetic line empire stated, “Nothing’s easy, but everything’s possible if you work hard.” Maxwell said: “In other words, you can do anything in this world if you want to do it badly enough and if you are willing to pay the price.”

“You might look at your life and think, “There’s no way I can develop any margins with my checkbook, my family, or my relationships with people at work,” but it’s possible if you work hard. And as I said before, the resulting freedom you’ll experience is definitely worth the effort.”

“Look at it this way: For people without margins, everything is difficult and some things are impossible. For people with margins, however, some things are difficult but nothing is impossible. While it’s certainly true that far more people live life without margins than with them, that doesn’t have to be the case for you.”

“Determine the specific steps (goals) you need to take to build some margins into your finances, your relationships and your calendar, and then get busy. The sooner you begin, the sooner you’ll start benefiting from an ever-increasing range of options.”

(From Dr. John C. Maxwell’s free monthly e-newsletter, Leadership Wired at www.injoy.com and reprinted with permission by Joyce Meyer, Enjoying Everyday Life newsletter. John C. Maxwell, PhD is a speaker, author and founder of several leadership organizations. He communicates his principles to Fortune 500 companies, international marketing organizations, professional sports groups and churches worldwide.)