How asking the right questions can lead to better work-life balance.

In today’s fast-paced lifestyle we all seem to be time-deprived. In a bid for better Career growth and secured future, our jobs are keeping us relatively busy. However this has also taken a toll on our relationships, health and overall well-being.

On the contrary successful people lead a life of fulfilment and joy. They are incredibly happy with their lives which sometimes is ironical. In addition to managing a lot of workplace responsibilities, they are left with enough time to pursue a hobby, read a book, spend quality time with their family or learn something new everyday!

So what’s that factor that allows some people to use their 24 hours to lead a balanced lifestyle where every hour of their life is prioritised and well planned. We usually have a false notion that successful people always have the right answers. But on a close look you will find that they ask the right questions. To emphasize with the statement lets read a story.

Steve Jobs is a name that needs no introduction. He is popularly known as the genius behind the epic turn around of Apple’s fortune in the mid 1990s and went on to introduce revolutionary products like ipod, iphone and the ipad to name a few before being beaten by cancer in 2011. However little is known about the personal life of the creative genius.

It’s the story about how Steve Jobs first met his future wife- Laurene. Steve was asked to give a guest lecture at Stanford Business School in 1989. The hall was filled long ahead of scheduled time as everyone was excited to see the man behind Apple II and Macintosh computers. Laurene who was a new graduate arrived late and found no empty seats. So she went over and sat in the front row which was reserved for Jobs and a few other dignitaries.

When Steve arrived into the room and sat on his place- waiting to be introduced, he found a young lady sitting to his right. Steve started a conversation with her and Laurene lied that she was in the first row because she was a privileged student who had won a contest and that post the lecture, Steve will have to take her for dinner. The conversation went for a while, before Steve was asked to start his lecture.

After the lecture got over, he literally ran through the crowd to find the lady and said, “Excuse me, wasn’t there some contest you won and that I’m supposed to take you to dinner?” Laurene grinned. “How about Saturday?” Steve continued. The lady wrote her phone number on a piece of paper and left. They met for dinner the following Saturday and hit it off quite well. They had an instant liking towards each other and married each other in 1991.

Later it was learnt that Steve had cancelled a very important meeting to be with Laurene that night. While this might sound routine, it is a rare occurrence for a workaholic like Steve Jobs. When asked about the incident, Steve recalled that he woke up that morning and asked himself one simple question.

This is a powerful questions that can turn around our lives. Most of the work that we do are out of compulsion, pressure or fear of losing out on a secured future. However, if we focus on the present and ask ourselves this one question every morning, it would detangle our mind and enable us to take the right decisions.

Like & share if you liked the story and comment below what is the first question that you ask yourself every morning.