Life Balance, Really?
I don’t know about you, but more often than not my life feels like it is absolute chaos. Life Balance seems to be the furthest things away that i’m thinking about. There aren’t many constant things or events that happen. Aside from death and taxes the only other one I can think of is our world are constantly changing.
How are we able to find this mythical “Life Balance” that gurus talk about?
Well, I believe it does not exist! At least in its pure form. Seriously, how could Life Balance ever going to work living in this modern world we live in?
Perhaps our expectations are too high.
At least with how we perceive balance in our lives.
A majority of us have to work. Most of us have family’s. Responsibilities and commitments. We love sports and hobbies and we expect our relationships to be everlasting. There’s drama and sorrow. Pain and grief. There is absolutely no way to find true balance in this chaotic world.
So what if I told you that there are three simple ways to Start achieving some harmony in this crazy world?
Well pay attention…
Understanding “Time” is your most valuable asset!
This is one item that can never retrieved. Every second, minute, hour, day month, year and so on creates only memory’s. There are so many distractions that are presented every moment of every day (Just like the sirens that drove by just now) that we never think about how we waste this commodity that has no price.
So why do we get sucked things like TV and the internet? There’s plenty of scientific studies about chemical reactions in our brains addict us to these habits. I know, I use to be addicted to wasting time also.
By doing a little exercise in understanding where you spend all your time.
Here’s a little breakdown for you:
“There are 168 hours in a week. If you work 50 hours in a week, that leaves you with 118 hours. If you sleep eight hours a day that totals 56 hours a week. Now you’re down to 62 hours. Three hours a day with family total is 21 hours. That leaves you with 41 hours in a week. That’s 5.85 hours every day that you can work on yourself. There’s not enough time in the day really means that you’re wasting precious time on stuff like TV and social media and not putting the time in towards helping yourself and your family. Now is a good time to ask yourself what’s important.”- From the book Internal Architect, Chapter: Timing
We easily waste that every day. and the excuses that we tell ourselves are mind boggling. I need to unwind, My head is spinning from the day. I want to relax. Do these sound familiar?
Peace can be had, It just takes DISCIPLINE!
I mentioned earlier that our expectations for Life Balance are set way to high. We set goals, create plans, come up with new routines. The reality is learning to be Aware of our surroundings. And I mean in all aspects!
You need to start somewhere and a good place is with your relationships. Are the people you associate with good or bad influences? Is your JOB environment positive or negative? Hows your relationship with your spouse? These are just a small handful of questions and topics you need to ask yourself all the time.
Once you’ve been able to identify some of the sources of anxiety and frustration, then it’s on the the hard part. Making Decisions that are going to benefit you and no one else. Over time, all the decisions that you make can potentially influence others around you.
One of the ways that I’ve been able to judge how finding peace is working is by making sure that the aspects of my life, health, family, friends, sport, and work all have an opportunity with my time. This is a really tough thing to do. Especially with work taking up the biggest chunk of time to cover all the basic needs of family.
PATIENCE young grasshopper!
Cancer was a massive wake up call. Not only because I survived it, but because it had such a profound impact on me. Patience was one of the most important teaching that it’s hard to tell how an outcome is going to unfold.
I believe that this digital, instant gratification world we live in, we have forgotten what it’s like to reap the seeds we sow. Experience the fruits of our labor. So many metaphors and yet all we got to show for it is our false need to relax at the end of the day.
Well I’m not retired, and im not going to waste my time in front of the “dumb screen”. Cancer may have taken away my finances and damn near put me in bankruptcy. But it can’t take away my work ethic and my need to build! and that means helping survivors rebuild themselves.
Building this means im committed for the long haul! An im going to need a butt-load of Patience to make this all work!
The Life Balance we’re working towards…
starts to compound over time. You’ve probably heard the term Compounding Interest. Not only does this work in the financial world, but it I believe it works in our personal and psychological worlds also. When we work on those fundamental life challenges that start to fulfill our needs, it opens our world to positive new opportunities and relationships.
But it takes time!
By cramming all this into a shorter window (which our instant gratification mindset has taught us to do) we miss out on the experience of the work we put in and truly never see the outcome and the benefits that come with it.
It’s easy to get so overwhelmed with all the different methods and fake gurus spouting out the latest and greatest way to achieve personal growth! And it’s easy to pray on the vulnerable especially after the new year.
With all the new year’s resolutions and the “New Year, New You” mindset, it’s no wonder that the shiny metal object syndrome is like a carrot dangling in of the people that need help the most!
Try your best to remove those shiny metal objects that suck up your attention. I think you’ll be amazed how important your time is! -T
