Most of us have experienced periods of feeling “burnt out” when our responsibilities exceed our desired workload. Conversely, we’ve also faced times when a lack of productivity drives us mad, such as being bed-ridden due to illness. Both extremes are undesirable, and it takes effort to bring our lives back to equilibrium.
Balance is key. It allows you to get the most out of your life by maximizing productivity while enhancing your quality of life. Thankfully, we can improve the balance in our lives, and this article will show you exactly how.
What is Balance
Definition: Balance refers to a state of equilibrium where different elements are in the correct proportions, allowing for stability, harmony, and optimal functioning. It involves distributing weight, effort, attention, or resources in a way that no single aspect overwhelms the others, creating a sense of steadiness and poise.
Balance is a fundamental concept in various philosophical traditions and schools of thought
- Yin and Yang (Taoism): Yin and Yang represent complementary forces in balance, symbolizing harmony between opposites like light and dark, active and passive, masculine and feminine.
- The Middle Path (Buddhism):Said to facilitate enlightenment by avoiding the extremes of self-gratification on one hand and self-mortification on the other
- Equilibrium (stoicism): Emphasizes maintaining equilibrium through rationality, self-control, and emotional resilience. Central to Stoic thought is achieving a balanced state of mind, irrespective of external circumstances.
- Homeostasis (Biological and Psychological): The tendency of biological systems to maintain stability and balance in response to external changes.
- Ecological Balance (Environmental Philosophy): The equilibrium between living organisms and their environment, ensuring the sustainability of ecosystems.
How Having More Balance in your life will Benefit you
Balance exists in almost every domain of life, both macro and micro, whether it be work/rest, ambition/contentment, financial saving/spending, giving/receiving, solitude/socialization, physical activity/rest.
Your ability to rest and recover determines how effectively you can exercise. Effective exercise enhances your ability to focus on work. Improved focus at work increases your productivity and time management. Efficient work allows for more quality time with loved ones, which reduces stress. Lower stress levels improve your ability to rest and recover. This cyclical relationship highlights the importance of having balance in your life.
When you are abusing drugs, food, and other forms of effortless entertainment, achieving a relatively balanced life is out of the picture. However, even when you are “disciplined,” there could be imbalances you don’t even realize are affecting you.
Personal Experience: In my own life, there was a time when I was spending all my time “grinding” on growing my business, optimizing health, and attaining as much knowledge as possible, while neglecting important relationships. I soon found that neglecting these relationships led to low life satisfaction and fulfillment. After I started dedicating time and effort to these relationships, my overall quality of life improved, including my quality of work, overall health, and wisdom on life.
this shows how an imbalance in one area will seep over into the next, creating a compound effect.
On the other hand, if each area of life is getting sufficient attention, your life will be in a sort of harmony, allowing you to function at your best in all areas.
Tools to Cultivate Balance in Your Life
The first step in cultivating balance in your life is doing some introspection.
You first need to figure out a general idea of what you want from life at the moment.
I like to do this by writing down the different areas of my life Ex: Business, Relationships, Physical Health, Hobbies and Passions.
Then write down how important each of these is to you.
I do this because we each have finite time in our days and life.
That being said, it is impossible to dedicate time and attention to one area without sacrificing time and attention of another
By identifying the importance of each area of life, you can then evaluate if you have been giving the correct amount of time and attention to the respective areas.
Step 1– Assessing Priorities
For visualization purposes, i like to give myself 20 points to dedicate to all 5 areas
My Ideal Balance
Business – 4
Relationships – 6
Physical Health (includes recovery and exercise) -5
Passions and Hobbies -5
Wasting Time- 0
Step 2– Writing Down Your Current Balance
My Current Balance
Business – 4.5
Relationships – 5
Physical Health- 4.5
Passions and Hobbies – 3
Wasting time- 2
Step 3– Identifying Discrepancies and Planning Adjustments
Compare and Contrast: Now that you can see how you’ve been spending your energy versus how you’d like to spend it, identify any discrepancies.
Addressing Imbalances: For example. My dedication to Passions and Hobbies is currently lower than I’d like. So i’d ask myself why this is? Maybe its because I have just been neglecting that area, or maybe its because the other areas are keeping me busy. In this case, as you can see, I have a 2 in Wasting Time. This includes participating in activities that don’t provide any benefit in my life.
Action Plan: If you find areas like “Wasting Time” taking up points, plan to cut those activities and fill the time with more meaningful pursuits. This will help bring your current balance closer to your ideal.
Now that youve identified where your lacking balance, and what needs to change in order to have a more balanced life. You just need to add the final, and most important ingredient… Discipline.
Figuring out what you need to do, and then having the discipline to actually make the change, is the recipe for cultivating balance.
Moving Forward
Achieving perfect balance in life is humanly impossible. Life is never linear, unexpected problems and changes are unceasing and inevitable and disharmonizing. Even in the toughest times, balance can still be found, though it may look different than when life is at its easiest. The middle path is always there.
The more you practice finding balance and building discipline, the better you will become at “finding the middle path,” “embracing the Tao,” and “maintaining equilibrium.”
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