For some time I have juggled in my head the question of what it takes to be an effective person at self-management.  Self-management should enable a person to grow up and become, without tragic interdiction, a whole and contributing person in this world.  Self-management is not only a practice of self-monitoring, but it is also the practice of self-maintenance, in which one takes regular pains to keep their lives up in several cardinal areas.

With this idea as the basic definition of what self-management should be, I have tried to identify what appear to be the six key arenas for focus in self-management .

A large caveat here- I am approaching this model using a Christian worldview as the context for most of the assumptions I make about what is important to maintain in life, and for what ends self-maintenance is practiced.  At the heart of Christian thought is that God is, God embodies love, and human beings were created to experience and practice love..

I will go into a background on this model more deeply in later posts, but in brief, the Six Spheres of Self-Management are:

• The Spiritual
• The Physical
• The Mental
• The Relational
• The Vocational
• The Financial

The Divine Directive: “Be Fruitful”

Again, one of the basic tenets behind this model is a presupposition that people were made to love.  In simplistic terms, human love was intended to reflect God’s nature, and love manifests itself in three principle ways: through communion, through creativity, and through connection.

Communion reflects the individual’s need for a relationship with God which is intimate and inspirational.  Connection reflects the individual’s need for relationships with others.  Creativity reflects the individual’s need to use their aptitudes, abilities, and resources to craft and contribute, mirroring God’s interest and emphasis on renewal, restoration and redemption.

Consequently, self-maintenance should involve disciplines that push a person to constantly commune with God, connect with others, and be creative with their lives.

Love fosters.  We were created to love.  With this as an overarching premise for the purpose for each life, love involves participation and contribution with others, perpetual sharing from the self, and an identity grounded in the guidance and grace of God.

As God creates and sustains, so the divine imperative asks that you and I be faithful stewards of what He gives us.  In short, “be fruitful.”