In Search of Balance: Keys to a Stable Life [Paperback]

Richard Swenson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2010

In Seach of Balance by Richard A. Swenson, MD, author of the best-selling book Margin, helps us understand the dangers of living in a fast-paced world and gives us hope for recovering a foundational sense of equilibrium.

Dr. Swenson offers not only important organizing principles for making sense of our priorities but also scores of practical tips for finding rest and contentment in a world that emphasizes materialism and busyness. His advice is grounded in the daily realities we all experience, but his wisdom has been honed by the big-picture perspective of an exhaustive study of the stresses of modern life.

Let Dr. Swenson be your gentle guide for reaching a new stage of personal balance. Want to use the book in a group? See the free online discussion guide below.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Most of us live lives of “quiet desperation,” as Henry David Thoreau put it, except we’re no longer so quiet about it. When exactly did “all stress, all the time” replace the “green pastures and still waters"? And what can we do about it? We try to manage all the details thrown our way, but we lack a sense of calm and steadiness at the center. Richard A. Swenson, MD, author of the best-selling book Margin, helps us understand the dangers of living in a post-balance world and gives us hope for recovering a foundational sense of equilibrium.

Dr. Swenson offers not only important organizing principles for making sense of our lives but also scores of practical Rx’s for recovering our balance. Having worked out his principles as a physician, author, and speaker, Dr. Swenson gives advice that is grounded in the daily realities we all experience. But his wisdom has been honed by the big-picture perspective of an exhaustive study of the stresses of modern life and progress, the forces that relentlessly give us “more and more of everything faster and faster.”

Let Dr. Swenson be your gentle guide for reaching a new stage of personal balance. Want to use the book in a group? See the free online discussion guide at www.navpress.com.

About the Author

Dr. Richard A. Swenson is a futurist, physician-researcher, award-winning educator, and best-selling author of Margin and The Overload Syndrome. He has given thousands of presentations, both nationally and internationally, to a wide variety of career, professional, educational, medical, religious, governmental, and management groups as well as members of the United Nations, NASA, Congress, the Pentagon, and the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Swenson and his wife, Linda, live in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: NavPress (February 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600066984
• ISBN-13: 978-1600066986
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless...Not Timely!, May 20, 2010

By 

Glenn Randall (Alvord, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Search of Balance: Keys to a Stable Life (Paperback)

From the introduction of this masterpiece to its brilliant conclusion, author Richard Swenson compels the reader to evaluate their priorities. Having read his other works related to this same topic (Margin, Overload Syndrome), I was expecting merely an updated version with newer data for 2010. I got a lot more than that! Swenson's challenge to our overburdened and overstretched society comes from his passion to help people before its too late (for them!). As a pastor, I counsel often with people whose bloated schedules have left them feeling lost in the shuffle. Stress has caused them to lose any sense of meaning in their marginless lives. Usually, a catastrophe is required before one or the other partner wakes up, although it is often too late to salvage marriage, family, or spirit. My favorite quote in this book comes from Chapter 5, "How to Couple Balance [Equilibrium] with Margin [Capacity]. It comes from author Marty Nemko, who says, "Don't give 110%. I have a client who gives 110%. Yes, he reaps rewards, but he's stressed out much of the time, makes mistakes as a result, and hasn't developed close relationships. The most successful people I know give 90%. They stay in the moment, tackle their projects slowly but steadily, and don't waste time worrying about what's ahead. They also have the emotional reserves to develop relationships and enjoy work." Almost everyone I know wishes they had head and heeded this wisdom. "Emotional reserves" would have saved many from burnout and the misery of trying to put their lives back together after losing most or all of it. Thank you, Dr. Swenson, for a volume that I will keep close by for the rest of my life! If you are looking for one book that is a "must read" for 2010, THIS IS IT!!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Self help book, March 13, 2010

By 

K. Courtney (Newaygo, MI, US) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Search of Balance: Keys to a Stable Life (Paperback)

I bought this book because I wanted to understand stress and manage it better. I am an instructor so I tend to work long hours mentally and not so much physical work. This book helped me to buy back some personal time that just seemed to slip away. Its a good book, easy to read and quite helpful because it's realistic approach is evident in just about any one's life today. Jeffco

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, March 29, 2010

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BookBargainsandPreviews.com "www.bookbargains... (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Search of Balance: Keys to a Stable Life (Paperback)

The subject of this book is a hot-topic in today's world...how do we find balance amidst all our responsibility and the busyness of this life. This was full of helpful tips and advice on how to reach that balance and find the time for what is really important to you. The author also stresses how finding this balance is the key to good mental, physical, and spiritual health. It was an easy read and very helpful.