Thursday, June 2, 2016

The Importance of Balance

One thing I have been thinking a lot about is the need of balance in life. Just like Mr Miyagi taught Daniel in The Karate Kid (which is, by the way, one of the best films of all time, in my opinion), balance in life is absolutely critical. Yest, it can be very difficult to find a balance that is healthy and produces the positive results you desire in life.

I been thinking about quite a bit because my wife, birth-daughter and I have recently adopted 4 children. For the past 8 months, we have worked to combine two families into one. We have worked hard to establish new positive routines that will bring a sense of family, joy and satisfaction to everyone.  As a result of this change, I have been thinking a lot about life and the need to achieve a sense of balance.

How do you you know when you are out of balance?
Striking a healthy balance means that all areas of your life are sufficiently cared for. It means balancing between happiness now and working for a better future. It means balancing time at work and time at home. It means balancing between focusing on your own needs and the needs of others.
Here are some great ways to tell whether your life is out of balance:
  1. Your emotions - your feelings will tell you when you are out of balance. Common feelings associated with balance issues include uneasiness, stress, anxiety, and unhappiness. (That reads like a list of side-effects like the end of a medication commercial).
  2. Your body - Often when things are out of balance, you will become ill, feel sick, have pit in your stomach, have tense or cramped shoulders, experience extreme weight loss or weight gain. You have got to listen to your body to and learn over time to determine which of these is affecting you the most.
  3. Your family - your family members know when you are out of balance. They may not like being around you as much. They may want to see you more. Perhaps you don't spend time with them as much as you would like to.
  4. Your supervisor - your supervisor knows when things are out of balance. She will notice your performance dipping, your engagement flagging, or your attendance faltering. 
Typical Life Balance Issues
So what are the areas of life that often become imbalanced?
  1. Enjoing Now and working for the Future at the same time
  2. Taking care of your Self and Others
  3. Maintaining Temporal needs and Spiritual health
  4. Having a life and work that has Structure but affords Autonomy
  5. Work hard but enjoying Rest
  6. Balancing responsibilities and time with Work and Family/Home
  7. Maintaining Control of your environment and Letting Go of what is unimportant
  8. Striking a balance between a life of Routine and Novelty
I plan to write about each of these balance issues from time to time over the coming several weeks.

Thanks for reading!

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