What is Balance?
“It’s all about balance.” We hear this all the time. We read it in books, see it on TV, listen to it on our favorite podcasts. But what does it really mean to be balanced, to live a balanced lifestyle?
Consider these people who get paid/credit for upstaging balance in what they do:
- An athlete who requires physical balance for peak performance.
- An accountant whose job is to balance the ledger to keep finances in order.
- A judge who we depended upon to impose balance to the scales of justice.
- An engineer whose job is to balance the laws of physics and develop something that works properly.
The list goes on across many professions and areas of our life. Everywhere you look, you can see how everything revolves around balance. But, how can we define it?
Let’s go to the core of it:
Our essence is energy and every energy has a certain frequency or vibration. When this energy resonates at a least tubulant, yet most productive/joyful wave length, it is flowing in harmony. We can call this regulated energy “being in BALANCE”.
All of us were born balanced – in a state of equilibrium – but since then genetic predispositions and environmental pressures of life have changed that. Earthly challenges for survival have kicked in, so we have adapted to certain solutions that have taken us out of balance!
As we grew up and evolved, we created certain defense mechanisms to fight with insecurities and defend our survival. Meanwhile, fighting those insecurities took us away from our core and manifested so many imbalances with different wavelengths.
Think of your original state as a calm body of water, without any turbulence (our core energy). A rock (earthly challenges of survival) is thrown in the water and the impact creates some ripple effects on the water (imbalances). It takes time for the suface of the water to settle down, but imagine what happens if there are more and more rocks thrown? When at every moment there are other rocks hitting the surface, again and again, how can we calm this choppy water?
That is the story of our life…
We lose being centered in our essence of joy and freedom (the calm in the water), and instead we begin showing reaction (the ripple effect) to what disturbs us (the rocks). And, then we are caught in turbulence. Our life becomes choppy as we bounce back and fort between comfort and turbulence. Every rock that hits our space, creates new reactions in every direction. We get unbalanced and fall, discouraged and give up, disconnected and empty!
Then how can we keep calm and stay in BALANCE?
The answer is prevention….
Before a rock hits your calm surface, be prepared to manage/regulate it with reducing the impact. As an effective manager or an efficient regulator you can bring balance into every situation and every impact. You can actually learn to ride the turbulence and even enjoy the wavelengths. It is not that difficult; it only needs knowledge, capacity, awareness, and differentiation. If you learn in which area(s) your weaknesses or anxieties persist, you are able to manage them and enjoy life. Your follow-throughs and persistence are the forces that push you forward.
In my preventive way, “Wheel of Wellbeing”, I suggest 8 areas of concern that need your full attention. Maintaining balance in these 8 areas, is the key to your guaranteed success. Remember, our essence of peace and freedom has always been with us; all you need to do is reducing the impacts and balancing your life.
The results of your WHEEL TEST shows you in which area(s) you may need most attention. Here are those 8 areas:
Physical, Mental, Emotional, Relational, Recreational, Environmental, Spiritual, Financial!
Often enough, when we pay attention to certain areas of life, it is at the cost of losing sight on others. Use this test to find out in which area you are over or under managing yourself? There are so many of us that go out of balance and end up paying heavily for missing the point!
- The CEO who is highly focused on work at the expense of losing his physical fitness or her relationships.
- The gym rat who works out 20 hours a week but can’t hold onto a steady job and make money.
- The book-smart genius who is always thirsty for learning more yet cannot find time to have fun, or emotionally connect with others.
All of these people are imbalanced. They may be really good at one thing but they are being weighed down by other areas of life. Then, managing the negative impacts in one area while attending to positive impacts in other areas becomes a continuous responsibility…
That is what BALANCE is all about!!
Now you can pick your low and high areas from your chart and see how you can improve on your balance. Your willpower to make the suggested changes turns your Wheel of Wellbeing.