Dare To Live Without Limits Week of 8/9/2021

Make a daily effort to keeping your life in balance

Motion is required to maintain balance. In order to balance on a bicycle, you must be peddling forward. It’s impossible to balance on a bike which is standing still. As soon as the bike stops, you have to get off, or put your foot down.
A spinning top appears to be perfectly still. But as it slows down it begins to wobble, ultimately coming to rest on its side. Spinning gyroscopes are used to keep ships and rockets stable. The faster they spin, the greater the stability.
While riding a bike, holding a heavy bag in one hand throws you off balance. Riding with your eyes closed ensures a crash. Facing backwards makes riding impossible. Letting go of the handle bars makes the bike hard to control.
Life is like riding a bicycle. If you don’t keep moving forward, you’ll fall. You can’t sit still and expect to be balanced. At the very least, an unbalanced life leads to unpredictable gyrations, unexpected changes in direction, bumps, and falls.
There are some simple techniques you can use to maintain your balance. Keep your eyes open and focused on where you are headed. You are already past what’s behind you. What lies in front of you is what matters.
Every aspect of your life is interconnected. Each component complements the others rather than being in competition. Work, personal time, family, social, and recreation are all intertwined. Balance is fluid, not fixed. The amount of attention required by each element varies so you have to consider the overall balance.
Compartmentalization is essential for maintaining balance. When you’re at work, focus on work. When at home, focus on your family. When you are resting, rest. Allowing the various aspects of your life to overlap interferes with each component receiving the proper attention. This results in everything being out of balance with nothing working right.
Get rid of any negative baggage which isn’t contributing anything positive to your wellbeing. Worry, stress, anger, resentment, and bitterness all throw your life off balance. Negative baggage also taints every aspect of your life.
Eliminate activities which don’t accomplish anything meaningful. Classify each task you are working on as either productive or just active. Productive behavior gets you closer to a specific objective. If you are just active, you are busy with nothing worthwhile to show for it. It’s the equivalent of spinning your wheels without going anywhere.
Say “no” to discretionary activities which don’t add balance. Devoting time to anything which detracts from those things you should be doing throws you off. Declining an invitation without saying “No” is very effective. For example you could say, “Thank you for asking, I’m glad you thought of me. Unfortunately, I can’t participate due to a prior commitment.”
Take care of your physical and mental wellbeing. If you are off balance, everything around you will feel out of balance as well. Your perception. and therefore your reality, is skewed which negatively impacts your decisions.
Where possible, avoid toxic people. Complainers, whiners, and those with negative attitudes have an amazing ability to throw everything they touch off balance. Instead, look for and connect with others who are also striving for balance in their lives.
Observe all of the aspects of your life. Constantly monitor how balanced you feel. Balance must be continually maintained through positive action. Take immediate corrective action when a situation becomes unbalanced. A small issue can mushroom if left uncorrected.
Make a conscious decision to balance your life. Be willing to actively participate in maintaining that balance. Adjust your balance and rebalance as necessary. A balanced life takes less effort to maintain than one which is unbalanced.

NOW AVAILABLE: "Dare to Live Without Limits," the book. Visit www.BryanGolden.com or your bookstore. Bryan is a management consultant, motivational speaker, author, and adjunct professor. E-mail Bryan at bryan@columnist.com or write him c/o this paper.  2021 Bryan Golden