Is Balance over rated? What does it take to reach your goals, does something have to give?

I was talking to friend about this idea the other day. 

Fitness Friends, I have a question to ask.

Is it possible to meet a fitness goal and still maintain balance in other parts of your life?

Allow me to elaborate here; a lot of us strive for this buzz word "balance" in our life.  But what does that actually mean?  I know for myself I have come to terms with defining it for myself with the help of some books and mentors and watching those around me I wish to model my lifestyle after.

One of my favorite authors on the subject is that of Mr Franklin Covey.  A few years into my career I was taken through the time matrix exercise and taught how to match my time with activities feeding certain parts of myself.  Mind, Body, Spirit and Heart are the 4 components of everyone's productive capacity, and the importance of finding time to work on each part of what makes me personally feel alive and well. 

The difficult part of this idea to answer is, at what point to you have to switch gears and give a goal or desired milestone more time and more energy to obtain the milestone? or do you?

This is the part of the balance scale I know I struggle with.  Where I landed is this thought.  What am I fighting so hard for? is it important to give two hours a day (for example) instead of one, to the gym to obtain a goal, that as soon as I go back to one hour a day will fade? or is a consistent pace of play more important to me? 

What do you think? is consistency and balance your goal, or do you strive for a balanced matrix?