12 Sep 2015 | John Stamoulos
Maintaining balance in life requires:
- knowing what you want,
- being aware of what does and doesn’t work for you
- taking action that is in alignment with your authentic self.
In moving with the inevitable changes and challenges in life, balance plays a critical role. A prolonged over-focus in one area of life can knock you off your center and disrupt the integrity in all other areas. Too much energy put into work can create a lopsided vacuum of attention in your home life; not enough play can stifle your creative juices; too much rational mind can kill your compassion and cut connection to your heart.
The net effect of this imbalance is a lot like trying to turn a jagged wheel in soft sand – impossible at worst and difficult at best. The end result is suffering and exhaustion of mind, body and spirit.
Getting upright and restoring balance after life gets ‘off-kilter’ :
Ideally, balance is about having an even focus in all areas of life. Here is a short exercise you can do to assess your own life’s harmony and flow.
Choose the area of your life that you feel needs your attention. Here is a list of potential categories for your consideration: (adapted from my Life Assessment Tool)
Spirituality
Personal Development
Physical Health and Vitality
Self-Expression
Finance
Career and Service to Humanity
Sacred Relationships
Home and Family
Relaxation and Leisure
Then, ask yourself these three questions:
- What is it I really want in this category of my life?
- How far away from that heart’s desire am I with regard to this category?
Rate it on a scale from 0-10 (10 being far away, 0 being connected)
- What one step can I take right now to return to a heart- centered equilibrium in this area of my life?
(Repeat for any of the categories above.)
When your efforts are clear and in harmony with your authentic self, you have choice-filled balance in your direction and you open the door for more joy, inner strength, confidence and resilience in life.
Vision + Clarity = Authentic Self
