Our lives are filled with thoughts, emotions, and experiences originating in our own hearts and minds but also created as a response to the people and circumstances around us. All of these make our lives complex.
We try to balance the connections with our partner, our children and parents, our extended family and friends, our colleagues at work, our neighbors, and our acquaintances.
We take care of our family affairs, the obligations at work, the responsibilities for the communities we are part of.
At the same time, we need to tend to our own health, our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.
No doubt, there are times when we have to focus on one aspect more than on others. Or we neglect an element inadvertently.
Before long, we feel out of balance.
But it is this awareness that will allow us to return to an equilibrium.
Not immediately, but over time and with a little effort.
The first step is to assess our current demands and re-prioritize what is important for us.
While the list might be long, we must not forget to include ourselves in this list and bump ourselves up to a high priority. I know from my own experience how difficult it can be to set boundaries and say no to the requests of others so I can say yes to my own needs. But…
🔹 Saying no for now does not necessarily mean saying no for forever.
🔹 Saying no allows you to step back and re-align your responsibilities with your values.
🔹 Saying no is a way to remove yourself from demands which no longer fit your interests.
🔹 Saying no helps you to slow down the hamster wheel just a bit until you are re-energized.
🔹 Saying no to others makes space for saying yes to yourself.
🔸 Saying yes to paying attention to your own health by exercising, sufficient sleep, and nutritious food.
🔸 Saying yes to giving yourself time-out for a bubble bath, a book, an hour in your sewing room or an evening painting.
🔸 Saying yes to quiet meditation, a heartfelt prayer, or spiritual rituals.
🔸 Saying yes to you!
I consider balance as precious, but most of the time I don’t recognize it as such. I only realize its value when balance goes amiss.
To me finding balance is like a diamond in the rough – a work in progress and therefore, not perfect.
But finding balance is worthwhile. Because you are worth finding balance!
What does balance mean to you? How do you experience being balanced or feeling out of balance? What is your approach to regain a sense of equilibrium?
Christine
PS: Interested in a video with detail views of Finding Balance? See it here!
