Читать книгу Habits for Success - G. Brian Benson - Страница 16

bal·ance

noun: balance

1.a mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.

2.a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.

“The man strived to live a life of balance.”

There is a quote that I like that says, “We are here to teach what it is that we need to learn ourselves.” I want to share with you how that quote played a part in my own self-growth process. During the course of leaving my family business, I was stuck in a kind of limbo for a year. In my heart I was ready to hit the road and begin my new life, but I had to stay around and continue to operate it while we went through the process of finding a buyer because of the decision to sell. I began to feel really out of balance and I didn’t like that feeling. I wanted to figure out why I was feeling out of balance. The answer was pretty simple. I was in a job that no longer fulfilled me and I felt that I wasn’t growing anymore. Well I knew that there wasn’t much I could do about this until we sold the business, so I had to make the best of the situation. I then decided to try to figure out how to bring some balance into my life. What I did was simple. I just sat down and wrote five things on a piece of paper that I felt might help keep me balanced and centered and then stuck it in my wallet. From that day forward every time I began to feel out of balance or out of center, I would refer to my list and make sure that I was following its suggestions.

One— Make sure I was drinking enough water daily.

Two— Make sure that I was getting some daily exercise.

Three— Make sure that I was getting enough sleep each night.

Four— Allow myself some daily alone time so that I could re-energize my system.

Five— Allow some time each day to be creative. At that time in my life, it was from playing the guitar.

This helped me out so much that I intuitively thought, “Hey, why don’t I expand the list and make it into a book to help others in the same way that I helped myself?” It was a great experience. I learned a lot in the process, I met some amazing people at workshops, and I know that the book helped many others in the same way that I was able to help myself! “We are here to teach what it is that we need to learn ourselves” played a part in the creation of my first book, Brian’s List!: 26½ Easy to Use Ideas on How to Live a Fun, Balanced, Healthy Life! As I worked on and learned how to stay in balance and build a strong foundation for myself, my path led me to help others do the same thing.

What is balance? According to the dictionary it is a state of equilibrium; mental steadiness or emotional stability; a habit of calm behavior and judgment. I agree. For me, balance is when everything is in alignment and I feel calm and centered. It is a time when I can make decisions proactively and not reactively. How do I know when I am out of balance? Usually when I start to feel overwhelmed and have difficulty making progress on goals. This is definitely my cue and a huge reminder to take a step back and begin to implement some tried-and-true methods to get me back in balance.

It is critical to have balance in our lives for many different reasons, most importantly because it gives us a solid foundation from which to operate. Without a solid foundation, it is very difficult to stay focused and move forward toward our goals and dreams. Without balance it can also be a struggle to listen to our intuition and guidance, which is crucial as we learn how to follow our hearts and move forward on our path. Another reason it is important to have balance in our everyday life is because balance makes it possible to be fully alive and to live by making choices in the moment. When we are in balance we have the energy, attention, and space in our lives to seize new opportunities. When we are in balance we can more easily recognize potential pitfalls without falling headlong into them.

Why Is It Important to Have Balance In Our Lives?

•We have more energy—Because we have eliminated many of the things that aren’t really important to us that have a tendency to weigh us down.

•Things flow smoother for us—Living in balance makes it possible to be fully alive and to live by making choices in the moment. We become proactive, not reactive. We make decisions because we want to, not because we are forced to.

•We are able to be our true selves—We can focus on what it is we want to do, not what we might have to do.

•We have a solid foundation to operate from—Without a solid foundation, it is very difficult to stay focused and move forward toward your goals and dreams as well as just your everyday common tasks.

•Our intuition becomes clearer/louder—The greatest thing about being in balance, I feel, is that we are able to live from our heart. And when we live from our heart, we are better able to listen to our intuition and guidance and act on it. Author Sonia Choquette has a great quote: “When we disconnect from our heart, we disconnect from our life source.” That’s why it is so important to lead a balanced life.

What Are Some Things That You Are Currently Doing That Keep You In Balance?

1.________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________

4.________________________________________________

5.________________________________________________

Why is it so hard to maintain balance in our everyday lives? One reason is because balance can act like a moving target. From day to day, our own individual point of balance can change depending on how much energy we have available and where our focus is. Let me give you an example: have you ever seen a juggler who keeps throwing another ball into the air? What do you think is eventually going to happen? He will eventually end up dropping some of his balls, right? What do you think is going to happen if you keep adding tasks, events, and items to your daily grind? Eventually some of these tasks won’t be finished or successful, will they? Just like the juggler with too many balls in the air, the more things we have going on in our life, the more difficult it is to keep everything going without dropping the ball. As the pace of our lives accelerates, so does our need to stay in balance.

Why Is It Hard to Stay In Balance?

•Balance acts as a moving target. From day to day our own point of balance can change depending on how much energy we have available and where our focus is. Every day is different for us.

•Our lives have become busier. The more we have going on in our life, the harder it is to stay in balance.

•We don’t know ourselves well enough. According to author Don Miguel Ruiz “awareness is the first step toward personal freedom.” Staying in balance and harmony really comes down to self-awareness.

•We might be involved in something that doesn’t suit us. If we are doing something that we don’t want to do or isn’t right for us, we are definitely going to be swimming upstream. I learned this first hand when I was running my family’s business.

What Are Some Things That You Are Currently Doing That Knock You Out of Balance?

1.________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________

4.________________________________________________

5.________________________________________________

How can you come to have balance in your everyday life? The first step is to identify that you are out of balance. Common signs of being out of balance are feelings of being overwhelmed, continual stress, poor health, and difficulty in making progress on goals. If any of these examples fit you, you are probably feeling stress due to being out of balance. What to do? Start out by taking a deep, cleansing breath, identify the reasons, and then begin to focus on making things simpler.

How Do We Stay In Balance?

•Identify that you are out of balance—Some common signs are feelings of overwhelm, continual stress, poor health, and difficulty in making progress on goals.

•Get to know yourself better; pay attention to your feelings—Paying attention to your feelings is the best way to get to know yourself. As you become more self-aware you can learn about what keeps you in balance and throws you out of balance, as well as begin to implement that knowledge and create better habits and truly live a balanced life.

If you find yourself feeling intense, balance it with some lightness.

If you find yourself working too much, balance it with some play.

If you find yourself giving too much, balance it with some receiving.

The list is endless…there is always a counter for something we are doing too much of.

•Focus on making things simpler—Simplifying life is the easiest way to find and maintain balance. When you have time to rest, to think about what has happened prior and what’s next, it is natural to come back to center. And when you are at center, you can make proactive choices on how you want to live your life.

What Are Some Ways You Could Simplify Your Life?

There will be times when you are out of balance. It happens to all of us. But, as you become more aware of what makes you tick, those moments of being unbalanced will become shorter because you will have the knowledge and tools to turn things around as you get to know yourself better. That is the key!

It’s no coincidence that my first book was about establishing life balance. I feel grateful to have learned how to become more self-aware and to realize the importance of staying in balance at such a crucial time in my life. It helped me to build and solidify my foundation as I began my new journey. My self-growth process began to expand after paying attention to and learning about the different facets of balance and I became hungry to learn about other ideas and ways to thrive.