THE VALUE OF
BALANCING YOUR LIFE
If you are older
than 18 I am sure
that you have
discovered that life
is a balancing act.
The trouble is that
the older one gets
the more there is to
be balanced...and I
am not just talking
about cheque books.
For those of us in
the workforce
juggling time
between all the
important things in
life is a delicate
balancing act
indeed. For those
whose workplace is
the home, who divide
their time between
feeding the new
baby, taking their
toddlers to the
park, preparing a
never-ending stream
of school lunches
and/or providing
taxi services for
their teens even
finding the time to
think about life
balance can be an
enormous challenge.
Having said that, I
always find it
amazing how some
people seem to
breeze through their
daily tasks with the
apparent ease of a
ballet dancer, then
zoom off to the gym,
manage to fit in a
massage, have a
coffee with their
partner, a nice
phone chat with a
friend and at the
end of the day still
have the energy to
feed their soul with
a good book, whilst
there are others who
struggle to simply
get through the day,
barely managing to
keep their head
above water.
Yes, it is true that
some of us have
greater energy
levels, some have
better
time-management
skills and it is
also important to
remember that there
are extremely
stressful times in
life when survival
is all we can
realistically focus
on. Nevertheless,
striving towards a
healthy life-balance
is a worthy cause
and one that
deserves continuous
effort. After all,
there is enough
evidence pointing to
the fact that a
consistent lack of
balance creates
greater
susceptiblity to
both physical and
mental illness.
LIFE/BALANCE ENQUIRY
How to get
started? To help you
'get this show on
the road' I'll share
a few simple steps
with you.
Step 1 - In
order to clearly see
were you are lacking
balance in your life
you'll first need to
take a look at the
important areas
that make up your
life. Most
people identify
these as being the
following:
* Romance/Intimate
Relationships
* Family
Relationships
* Work Life/Career
* Health/Self Care
* Social Life/Fun
* Personal/Spiritual
Development
Step 2 - Now
look at every one of
these areas and
establish in
percentage terms the
level of attention
you give to each of
them. If you
discover in this
process that you
spend 85% of your
time at work, 10% of
your time with your
family and 5%
socialising, chances
are that you are
financially secure
but that your
partner can't
remember when you
last spent some
quality time
together, that your
fitness level leaves
a great deal to be
desired, that your
health isn't as good
as it should be and
that it's been years
since you've read a
book, visited a
place of worship or
spent some time just
being. If this is
you, my guess would
be that you don't
feel particularly
satisfied with
yourself or with
your life. Why????
Because your life
is out of balance!
Okay, having
identified that your
life is out of
balance you now have
some choices to
make. You can decide
to leave things as
they are or to make
those changes you
always talk about
but rarely tackle.
Should you choose
the latter, read on
for the next steps
in this process:
A JOURNEY OF 1000
MILES...
Step 3 - Look
at the areas that
currently get too
little of your
attention and
consider how much
time would be
appropriate for each
of them. If you are
not sure, just ask
your partner.
Partners are usually
quite good at
letting us know
where we need to
improve!
Step 4 - Now
consider which
changes you can
realistically make
that will move you
closer to your
desired time and
attention frames in
each one of those
areas. Having
established this
your next step is...
Step 5 - the
MOST IMPORTANT step,
the step without
which you will get
nowhere - YOU
NEED TO COMMIT TO
MAKING THOSE
CHANGES.
To help you with
this step:
* Write down your
commitment.
* Tell others about
your commitment.
* Give a friend or
mentor permission to
hold you accountable
to your commitment.
We all know how easy
it is to think about
making changes and
how difficult it is
to actually
implement those
changes.
* Focus on making no
more than 3 changes
at a time and ensure
that those changes
are small enough to
be realistically
achievable. It's
easy to throw in the
towel if the steps
you are planning are
too big.
* When you feel
discouraged,
remember that even a
journey of 1000
miles starts with
one step. (Chinese)
Step 5 - Now,
get started on the
implementation
process!
If you are serious
about achieving
greater balance in
your life, this
simple yet not easy
process works every
time. The secret to
success is to stick
with the progam even
when you don't think
that you can afford
the time or when
you've got a dose of
the 'I don't want
to's'. JUST DO
IT!
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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
No courses, workshops or seminars will be
held for the
remainder of this
year.
*******************
This month's tip:
Reduce stress - take
a breather.
click here
WORDS OF WISDOM
Be glad of life
because it gives you
the chance to love,
to work, to play,
and to look up at
the stars. (Henry
Van Dyke)
*********************************
It is not length of
life, but depth of
life. (Ralph Waldo
Emerson)
*********************************
Determination is
what keeps you going
long after the
initial excitement
about your plan has
worn off. (J.M)
**********************************
Never ever give up
trying to achieve
what you know is
good and right for
you. No matter how
tiring or how
difficutl it may
seem at times, it
always pays off in
the end. (SR)
**********************************
A journey of a
thousand miles must
begin with a single
step. (Lao Tzu)
**********************************
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CONTACT DETAILS:
Sonja Ridden
331 Mona Vale Road
Terrey Hills NSW
2084
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