Thinking about standing on one leg. What’s the longest you have ever managed to do it without losing concentration and tipping over slightly?
What happened when you started to tip over? You probably quickly focused yourself and set about finding that inner balance that meant that you didn’t fall over. Or perhaps you gave in to the urge and put down the other foot.
Depending on your frame of mind at the time, you may well have been buoyed by the fact that you managed to stay balanced or disappointed at the fact you ended up relinquishing your inner flamingo and had to settle for a both feet on the ground approach.
So roll back just a moment and think of it in a different way. You ready?
OK so now you are balancing on one leg and holding a conversation with someone in the room. Add to that the fact that your phone has just buzzed with a notification from a WhatsApp group you are in, and you’ve got the fact that you haven’t got around to sorting that appointment that you need to arrange for the important client.
This multi-faceted approach to our lives draws our focus away from maintaining balance and if any aspect of our life draws a disproportionate amount of focus, we have to short change the other aspects. That throws us off—and we run a greater risk of having to firmly plant both feet on the ground until a balance can be re-established. We have to deal with any areas that are taking too much focus and put them in perspective, align them, so that we have focus required to stay balanced.
It’s important to understand that others cannot do this for us. No one can think, breathe, feel, see, experience, love or die for us. It’s up to us to balance all the different aspects of our lives. We just have to decide to do it.
So How might we approach this? What’s the first step?
We need to stop and assess how we’re doing.
To look at all the various aspects of our lives that we are constantly juggling, constantly trying to keep in balance—marriage and family, money, health, social circles, spiritual development, mental growth.
Is it possible for us to focus on so many things at once and are we able to devote ample energy to all areas? Or are we tipped to one side, unbalanced in one direction?
Here’s how to balance it all out:
1. Assess your life as it is now.
Looking at ourselves as we really are is the first step in restructuring our lives. Do you feel physically exhausted, mentally stagnant or find yourself without close relationships? Would you call yourself a workaholic? Do you feel a lack of spiritual alignment? If you answer yes to any of these questions, your life is probably out of balance.
2. Make a conscious decision to become balanced.
Choosing reality as our basis of decision is the second step to becoming balanced. Achieving balance allows us to reach our goals and our purpose in life while creating less stress to do so. A conscious decision to change is now in order.
3. And make that decision on a minute-to-minute schedule.
We are all instant forgetters. Remember all those resolutions you made way back in January? Renewing our decisions on a daily, minute-to-minute basis allows us to ease into change, instead of expecting things to change overnight.
4. Set goals in every area of your life.
Set realistic goals in all areas of your life to assist yourself in remembering that your ultimate goal is balance. Your goals should cover:
- Your relationships
- Your physical being
- Your spiritual alignment
- Your mental development
- Your job
- Your finances
5. Be willing to take the risk.
Being willing to assess ourselves and take the risk to change will not only enhance our lives, but you will feel more energy and an expanded awareness of what life is all about. Acknowledging that balance is essential and recreating your life to encompass your decision is worth all the risk.
6. Make time to reassess yourself on a daily basis.
None of us can really know how well we are doing with change in our lives unless we are willing to reassess our position. Don’t feel that your decisions are made in concrete; if something feels that it isn’t working, be willing to look at a new decision. Make time for yourself every day, in a quiet meditative state, to relax and “check yourself out.”
