The Power Of Margin

I did not realize how much life-space some things were taking. I recently wrote about some reliefs I felt from selling my business. One of the clear things for years was the lack of margin I had in my life. This included the margin in just about any area, from time to finances to stress or focus. The last few years were especially difficult.

Over the last few weeks, I have realized even more of the things that the lack of margin was crowding in. My family. My spiritual life. My leadership ability. My work at the church. The relief has allowed me to think about things I had not thought about in some time. Margin is powerful.

Margin is an unused space. Margin in printing or typing leaves blank space around a large area that makes it easier to read. It allows you to know where the text begins and ends. It is space to add things that make an impact or note to remember something important. It also allows the machine space for a slight error without the page missing something.

Margin in your life is unused space. It allows there to be some definition about where some things end and other things begin. It provides space to think about things that have just happened, or that is getting ready to happen. It leaves room for changes and slight errors without there being significant damage. It gives you time to recover and to appreciate what is going on around you. It is empty so that if something needs to bleed over, it can without harming something else.

Margin applies to almost every facet of our lives. We need margin in our finances. We need margin in our time. We need margin in our relationships. Margin with our careers and jobs and places that we lead. Margin in our spiritual walk. No area will not benefit from some clarity and clean space.

Instead, we live in a culture that thrives on busy and runs on coffee. We no longer respond to the greeting “how are you?” with “fine.” Instead, now the standard reply is “busy.” We feel useful in busyness. The truth is margin could make us more effective instead of just feeding our useful ego.

I believe I will see some significant benefits of margin in the coming months. I have already seen some of it in my home and family. I encourage you to create some margin. Instead of packing every second, give yourself a little time to breathe. You might find the benefits of space are better than the hustle of busyness.