Читать книгу Comfortable Chaos - Carolyn Harvey & Beth Herrild - Страница 9

The last I is inter-related and it means having a holistic or big picture approach to life. Instead of thinking of your life in its various pieces (such as work, parenting, relaxation, and housework), think of everything as being interconnected.

We like to poke fun at some of the traditional “get balance” advice that says things like “fit in some exercise or quiet time by getting up earlier in the morning.” Well, that might work if you are already getting enough or too much sleep. But if you are already shortchanged on rest, reducing it even further will most likely have negative consequences on your work, your parenting, your safety behind the wheel, and your ability to resist Krispy Kreme donuts.

A great example of the importance of a holistic approach comes from learning to fly an airplane. If you are working on getting your instrument rating, there is an exercise you go through to learn to rely solely on your instruments in inclement weather. You don a hood that allows you to see the instruments but not out the windshield or side windows of the plane. You are essentially flying with tunnel vision, without the ability to have a sense of perspective. Your instruments could be telling you that you are relatively level, but when you take off the hood you invariably realize that you are not oriented exactly as you thought you were to the horizon. This can produce quite a sense of dis-equilibrium because you had no perspective of the big picture. Once you are allowed to again view both the instruments and the sky and horizon outside the airplane, it becomes much easier. You may even decide that you don’t need to vomit after all!

Keep this in mind as you go through your day. Being able to see, and realizing how each thing is oriented in relation to other things, will keep you flying steady. Seeing the big picture is paramount for thriving in today’s world. You’ll learn some techniques for doing this in Chapter 4.

You now have a basic understanding of Comfortable Chaos, and it’s time to dig deeper into individual, the first I, by learning more about your preferences, priorities, and tolerance for chaos.