COMMENTARY>>Defining yourself by balance

Commentary by Col. Todd Pavich
314th Airlift Wing vice commander

What’s in your bio? What’s in your resume? What’s on your SURF? What do you do? All of these are common questions someone has or will ask to find out about you. Does your answer adequately tell your story? I’m intrigued by how people define themselves.

The Air Force is our profession. We train and educate every member in a variety of specialties to serve our nation. We established high standards and hold every Airman accountable to meet these standards. We continue to develop Airman with more education and more training. We give Airman more responsibilities and in turn expect more from them as they advance in rank and time in service. Our Air Force demands and creates professional Airmen, but it should not be the only definition of who we are. One day every one of us will leave the Air Force. How will you define yourself after this occurs?

Introductions are sometimes a bit awkward for me. If the conversation ever progresses beyond my name and how I feel today, the next logical question is what do you do? I’m in the Air Force is usually my response. There was a time in my career when this response accurately defined me, because it was all I did. I was consumed with my mission both during and after duty hours. It was a time when I did not have a balanced life. There is no question, military service is demanding, and there are times you will be asked to commit all your time and energy to execute your mission. But if you spend every waking hour preparing, briefing, executing, reviewing and refining your mission, you may not have the most balanced life. I was like that, and I would venture to say many of us are or were the same.

My first epiphany came when I was very focused on completing my PME and master’s degree. My wife has always been an avid swimmer and cyclist. She started training with some of our neighbors and they all departed one Saturday to compete in her first triathlon. I declined to go and spent the morning working on my thesis. The four of them returned later that afternoon with smiles of achievement and stories of the event. The excitement of the event did not end there and they sat for hours reminiscing and planning for the next event. I quickly realized I had missed out on a significant opportunity, and I was both jealous of them and disappointed in myself. There was more to life than my profession, and if I didn’t find balance, I was going to miss it. Needless to say, I made a change and my wife and I have completed more than 20 triathlons together. I have to say, it’s not about the race or the fitness for me, it’s about the event. I am now also defined by cycling. I have a passion in addition to my Air Force profession.

I had already achieved more of a balance life by the time I was selected for squadron command. While attending my commander’s course, The MAJCOM commander made a statement about balance however, I’ll never forget and I relay often to others. He said we’d be tempted to donate countless hours to our squadrons, but if we made it a normal practice to be at work after 5:30 p.m., he’d hired the wrong person. This surprised me a bit, but I found it refreshing the four-star believed in balance also. He was absolutely correct. It can be difficult to rely on others to complete projects in our stead, but keep in mind we have a force of professionals. Avoid the tendency to do their taskers in addition to yours.

It took me a while to achieve balance, but I’m now not singularly defined by my U.S. Air Force profession. I encourage everyone to find their own balance. Find a purpose or passion unique to you. The next time I’m posed the question, “what do you do,” I’d like to think I’ll respond, I’m a bicycle fanatic, who loves to play the guitar, and is interested in learning how to build furniture and weld. Oh by the way, I’m a professional Airman also.