Life is a delicate and constant balancing act. It takes work. But more importantly it takes awareness. Too much of any thing can throw us out of step. On the flip side when we lack certain things, it can also cause us to feel out of sync, which is why I believe balance in life is fundamental to happiness.
This past week, the theme of balance keeps coming up for me, personally and in conversations. It has reminded me of how important it is to have, create, cultivate and maintain a balanced life.
When we look at what the word balance means, the definition of it really cements why it is so essential. The meanings are:
An even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.
A condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions.
To keep or put (something) in a steady position so that it does not fall.
Our happiness is a mixture of our needs and how we are tending to them on 4 levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. If one or more of these areas of our life is out of proportion or unsteady, we tend to feel less happy, make poor decisions and/or allow stress to spill over from one area to the other.
Bringing awareness to what we need in order to stay balanced and knowing when we are outside of this alignment is easily one of the most important practices we can start and nurture for ourselves.
Getting clear on our specific needs to be happy and to excel in life will be the cornerstone to the amount of balance, and in turn happiness, we are able to create and maintain on a consistent basis.
Balance is what enables us to grow.
To weather storms.
To create healthy change for ourselves.
And to re-center when we are aware that we have lost it.
The act of balancing requires that we identify what we need to be happy and then carefully dance with life as we are making decisions and holding on to or letting go of everything that supports our commitment to stay within our happiness parameters.
Balanced living begins with mindfulness, which allows us to offset the negative with the positive. Clarity of our core needs is the beginning of living a more balanced life.
Do you know what you need to be happy?
Can you feel when you are out of balance?
Are you able to easily re-center when your world is misaligned?
I encourage you to spend some time getting more familiar with your honest answers to these questions. I have been spending some significant time defining what my balance looks like, how to attain it and more importantly how to keep it.
Get intimate with your balance.
Cherish it.
You are its keeper.
Own it.
“To acquire balance means to achieve that happy medium between the minimum and the maximum that represents your optimum. The minimum is the least you can get by with. The maximum is the most you’re capable of. The optimum is the amount or degree of anything that is most favorable toward the ends you desire.” – Nido Qubein
Photo Credit: Big City Bright Lights