I clearly remember as a child riding the teeter totter with
my best friend. Because she was smaller,
I spent most of my time hitting the ground and pushing hard with my legs to get
“up there”. What I recall most vividly
was the emotion attached to the experience.
I felt embarrassed, self-conscious, inferior and even jealous.
As children we imprint our experiences emotionally as we
perceive them at that time. We create a
story. Our stories influence our future
experiences and perceptions about life.
We can become victims of these lies and the thoughts about how life should be.
Truth is, life’s a Teeter
Totter and you can expend a lot of energy just trying to keep the
balance. Trying is hard work.
There are many great resources for time management and what
to “do”
to create life/work balance. But, you
know how quickly “to do” lists can evaporate! It’s more about being than doing.
First of all, I don’t like the slash in Life/Work. When balance occurs on the inside there’s not that division.
Fundamental to quality of life and balance, there are 2 levels:
·
The underlying quality of life
·
The day-to-day experience of life.
I asked a former client what balance meant to him. He replied, “Balance is when you no longer
have to compensate in any one part of your life to make up for the
dissatisfaction in another part.”Don’t waste another day struggling. Take action now to begin the journey.
An exercise to get you started:
Ø Grab a piece of paper and write down your Values – as many as you can think of.
Ø Where in your life are those values being violated, by you or others?
Ø How does that feel?
Ø Now, using 2 columns, write what you can say No to and what you can say Yes to, keeping in mind being true to your values. Now, commit.
Enjoy your summer days,
Sharon
