Remember when you first got out of high school, and there was a day when all of the other kids were back in school but you weren't?

It felt weird right? You had time on your hands, and probably were the "free-est" you've ever been. That was margin.

Margin allows you the room to breathe. Here are the 3 top places where having margin makes the biggest impact.

• Finances

• Time

• Health

Finances

Having margin in your finances allows you to give generously.

It's not only a biblical proverb but scientifically proven that being the "giver" is more beneficial than being the "receiver". Giving lights up the reward centers in our brain, the same places that light up when we experience pleasure. Having margin in our finances allows us to participate in giving without the added stress of worrying about paying our bills.

Time

Me: How are you doing?

Friend: I'm just so busy.

How many times have you had that interaction? We are only as busy as we choose to be. That may be because of choices we made in our younger lives, and now have to live with the consequences. But, it's all based on choices we've made. By scheduling margin into our lives, we are allowed the room to breathe, literally and figuratively. Another scientifically proven benefit of margin with our time: meditation.

Health

A healthy man wants a thousand things, a sick man only wants one.

By taking care of our bodies through diet and exercise, we produce margin in our health. When our kids are small it allows us to run and play and develop bonding moments with them. In mid-life it allows us to experience accidents without lifelong catastrophic consequences. In late life it allows us to enjoy our twilight years doing things we love.

Margin is missing from modern American life. I propose we bring it back.