Thought of the Day 8/24/09

Balance

“I have never met anyone as balanced as you are.” – Teri Foster

According to Wikidpedia, one definition of balance is the ability to maintain the center of gravity of a body within the base of support with minimal postural sway. Keeping balance requires integration of inputs from multiple senses.

So today’s thought came to me last Friday while I was at the tire store getting the truck tires balanced. As I watched the workers dropping the tires on my truck and putting them on the balance machine, I started thinking and visualizing.

Balance in my life is like the tires on my truck. When they are balanced, I have a nice smooth ride at all speeds. When one is out of balance, I get a shimmy in the steering, and the front end may bounce a little. To maintain a smooth ride with no shimmy, I need to keep the four areas of who I am in balance: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

For those of you that have known me for a while, I’ve always been a relaxed and low key person, but I have not always had the balance. And when I’ve had a few Keystone Lights, I have a little less balance J. It is a work in progress, and I work on all four areas daily. As I have learned, and continue to do so, who I really am, things continue to change for the better. It’s the process of finding your “happy place” as described in Adam Sandler’s movie, Happy Gilmore.

There are many ways to find your happy place. It’s all a matter of what you choose and where you assign your priorities. I do it by having a strong faith base, helping people, working out, surrounding myself with good people, practicing yoga, employing the principles of Law of Attraction, reading/writing, lots of meditation – whole brain processing, attending Lakewood Church, riding the Harley, spending time with friends and family, and on and on. All of these activities are a part of me rather just things I do. I see them as part of the day just like brushing my teeth or taking a shower.

Action Item – When was the last time you checked your life balance? Are you assigning more importance to your job than your family and friends? Have you noticed a shift in your friends or family but can’t put your finger on it? Do you find yourself short of patience? Do you feel like you are dragging and run down? Do you get that feeling like something is missing in your life?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, your life balance may be off. Check your life balance in the four areas: physical, spiritual, emotional and mental. Create a checklist by area then develop a plan to work the checklist until you find the balance across all four areas. Please note this is a change in lifestyle and thinking and not a quick fix. It takes times and help from others. Have the patience to see it through. As always, you can call or email me for assistance in finding your balance. I can’t find it for you, but I sure can give you some tools and coaching to help you find it.