Life's up and downs provide windows of opportunity to determine... values and goals...Think of using all obstacles as stepping stones to build the life you want.Nothing is unthinkable, nothing impossible to the balanced person, provided it comes out of the needs of life and is dedicated to life's further development.Live a balanced lifelearn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.The pursuit of balance is a lifelong journeWhen our lives are balanced it means we are centered. We are able to make life decisions from our core values and principles, rather than succumbing to a reactive mode or 'fire fighting'. Having balance also means being able to spend sufficient quantity and quality of time in areas that we have defined as being important to us.
Life balance can be viewed in many ways. It can be a balance between home and work. Or a balance between body, mind, and soul. Or it may be a balance between one's material and spiritual lives.
It is important to know what life balance means to you. To do this, you need to know what areas of your life are important to you.
Why do we need life balance?
If your life is balanced, you are better able to sustain your success - without burning out. A recent article in a Canadian newspaper reported that Statistics Canada has estimated that approximately $400 billion has been spent on stress-related illness in the work place. In many cases, stress comes about because of lack of balance.
If you are worth billions of dollars, but in the process of acquiring that wealth you lose your health, what will your wealth buy you? Even the best medical treatment cannot buy your physical health once it has gone. Money can also not replace the loss of a family member if you have become estranged from them through the process of acquiring wealth. And if your financial ambition causes you to lose your connection to your spirituality, your success will be lopsided.
Balance creates synergy. An active and healthy body helps the mind and the spirit. When your mind is active and positive, it helps the body and spirit. And when your soul is nourished, it helps the body and mind. The synergistic effect that occurs through balance results in better all-round productivity.
When you are able to spend enough quantity and quality of time in areas that are important to you, the result is immense satisfaction with your life. You will find meaning and fulfillment and happiness. As Og Mandino, so appropriately said, "When all is said and done, success without happiness is the worst kind of failure". J. Paul Getty, the U.S. industrialist, puts it another way: "Doing too much or too little leads to failure". In other words, imbalance can lead you to do too much or too little.
How do we find life balance?
Finding life balance starts with having clarity of purpose - knowing what you want and why you want it. Without clarity, we are unable to focus. This leads us to do too much, and results in imbalance. Remember, it is not how fast you go or how efficient you are that count, but rather whether you are going in the right direction. If you are heading in the wrong direction, even thinking positively will help only temporarily. Knowing where you want to go helps you to say "No" to things that are not important to you.
There is an inverse relationship between urgent and important. What is important is generally not urgent. Things only become urgent because we have neglected to do the important things.
For many of us, our health is not an urgent issue - until we neglect it and it becomes urgent. Most of us take our mental alertness for granted. But if we don't do the important work of developing our mind, over time it will not stay sharp. On the surface, spiritual alertness may not seem to be a priority in our lives. However, if we fail to reflect and meditate, over time our connection to our spirit will become weak.
The key is to spend the bulk of our time on the things that are important in our lives, and to eliminate that which is unimportant. Having clarity of purpose can help in determining what is important and what is not. If you find that you cannot eliminate the unimportant things in your life, then delegate or procrastinate these activities. This leaves you free to focus on executing around a tight set of priorities. To find balance, remember that less is more.
There is a Sufi story of a soldier who has been hit with an arrow. As he lies dying, instead of focusing on removing the arrow, he asks questions such as how big is the arrow and who was the archer. While doing so, he dies. The moral of the story is to not spend time on insignificant stuff and 'kill' your limited energy.
I have found that spending twenty minutes each day doing exercise, twenty minutes reading, and twenty minutes meditating helps me achieve balance. I call this the hour of power. Starting your day with an hour of power gives you a head start. Where can I find this hour, you ask? Try going to sleep an hour earlier at night.
Another way of finding balance is to combine two important activities. We multitask in so many other areas of our lives, so why not in the areas that are important? Try listening to educational CDs while driving or running on a treadmill. Or spend twenty minutes a day walking with your spouse or child or a colleague. That way, you make sure you are spending time with the people in your life who are important, but are still getting your exercise.
By scheduling weekly important items such as family activities, exercise, reading or praying time, you can ensure that you always include them in your busy week.
Finally, true balance comes from being integrated. When we are able to fuse our life in such a way that everything we do is grounded on principles that are important to us, we are living with integrity. If we integrate the way we walk, talk, eat, and run our business, we will feel centered and balanced.
Having life balance brings meaning, fulfillment and happiness to our lives. Despite the constant changes in our environment, it is possible to find life balance. Most often, this is achieved by being able to spend enough quantity and quality of time in areas that are important to you as defined by you, not by someone else. Focus your time on the important stuff of life and strive to live an integrated life.
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About the Author
Ajay Pats is professional manager working as sales manager.He runs inspirational ezine"Rediscover true colors of life" available at http://www.topica.com/lists/venturemall and community for home based business entrepreneurs available at http://groups.msn.com/venturecon.