Thursday, March 27, 2014

Life in Balance

 

LIVING A BALANCED LIFE

 
What does it mean to live a balanced life?  Let me start out by what it mostly doesn't mean.  It does not particularly mean that you can stand on one foot with arms outreached and your other foot in your hand.  (Although that is pretty cool and does make for some outstanding flexibility, balance, and a real fancy photo!)
 
Living a balanced life means something different to everybody.  I think what it really boils down to is this: You live a balanced life when your passions motivate or become part of everything you do.  You live a balanced life when your career is what you love and then nothing ever seems like work.  Balance in life could be considered the measure of when happiness integrates itself regularly into your day to day routine.  
 
Balance will be found by those who seek it.  Finding balance in your life entails asking yourself tough questions about what is important to you and how hard you are willing to work to achieve your dream.  Work does not necessarily prelude to hours of tedious annoyingness, but rather a desire to believe in your own dreams and run them down in spite of everything telling you that these walls in your way cannot be scaled.  What are you willing to not have in order to have a clear vision of balance? 
 
Streamline your needs and depend less on everything that the world tells you to possess and that will make it easier to pursue your goals.  
 
Beyond the deeper meanings of life and the obvious underlying desires that each of us have to do something that we consider great, there are also topical ways to have balance.  Release things in life that do not have use, that you don't need, or that may be holding you back.  Here is one superficial beginning step to empowering yourself on this journey:
 
- Go in your drawers and your closets and take every single thing out that you have not worn in the last 24 months.  Throw it in a bag, and donate it to charity.  If you have not worn it in 2 years, you are not going to wear it anymore. 
 
You will find that you just got rid of probably 25-30% of your clothing and belongings. 
You didn't need them, they were weighing you down, and they would be better served if someone else was using them who did need it.  NOW.. look at the last sentence and apply that to everything in your life, perhaps even a job you don't like. 
 
Live the life you were meant to live.  Make your mark.  Second chances are not a guarantee.