The other day I was asked, "Since you write books about balance, you must be happy and balanced all the time, right?" I paused and replied, "You'd think so, wouldn't you?" The person looked bewildered. I continued, "Let me just say this: we all have good days and "not as good" days. I just focus on appreciating the good days, and then try my hardest to pay attention and learn about what the not-so-good days are teaching me. In the long run, that feels more natural—more balanced."
That, in its essence, is what I consider "What's really happening". We are all going about our lives day-to-day and navigating through the sea of life with its waves, lulls, and uncharted waters. We all have good days—we all have challenging ones. Sometimes we're right on course; sometimes we're headed for an iceberg. Other times we just need to take our eyes of the map for a moment and allow the winds of change to point us in a new direction. Either way, the voyage continues.
Is life perfect? Absolutely not. But it's from the "is not" that comes the "is"... those wonderful moments of clarity, meaning, and true happiness. Those are the moments to focus on and remember when you're having a bad day, keeping in mind that whatever we pay attention to expands.
What are some ways in which you help yourself to maintain better balance? What is helping you on those challenging days?
To Your Better Balance!
Michael Thomas Sunnarborg
Find better balance in your life, relationships, and work.
Visit 21daystobetterbalance.com and learn more.
Some days are just better than others. There are days we feel
energized and happy, and other days we may feel low energy and
more sublime. I couldn't expect myself to be blissfully happy every day, but I used to think that when I felt down or under the weather there was something
wrong with me. I was under the impression that I needed feel good all the time, and it felt like that expectation created a lot of pressure in my life.
Then I started paying attention to those times where I didn't feel so great and noticed that each time I came out of a lull, I had a
clearer vision and new zest for life that I didn't have before. Having those occasional "down days" serves a purpose (and here's a way to turn your ups & downs to horizontal rather than vertical).
The lulls of life are very important
times: they are a time of reflection, gathering information, comparing and contrasting thoughts and feelings, and time for refreshing our
perspective. Think of it like sleeping. When you sleep, your
body restores and heals itself. When you wake, you usually feel refreshed and renewed. Ever had a problem, decided to "sleep on it", and felt better about it the next day? It's the same with the ups and downs of life. On those down days, we experience contrast, and from that contrast we create
another new creation—often, as simple as the desire to feel better.
So embrace the down times. Embrace your outages. Embrace the days you don't feel so great, for it is in those days you are internally realigning yourself with what you
really want. And when you start moving yourself back into alignment, better balance is near.
Life isn't about being perfect; life is about being present. Be present with all of your thoughts and feelings, for every aspect of you is important. And when you allow yourself to flow in and out of all your emotions, you will experience feelings of relief.
To Your Better Balance!
Michael Thomas Sunnarborg
Find better balance in your life, relationships, and work.
Visit 21daystobetterbalance.com and learn more.
