LIVING WITH BALANCE

We’re all human, and our scales will always have a tendency to over tip when we’re stretched, or unfocussed or just ultimately just needing a KitKat. Everybody needs a break sometimes and I don’t mean just taking a few days off work. We all relax in our own way. For me, there is nothing better than spending time in nature – taking my bike out on to the road, or a rod out on to the loch and in doing so (without sounding too sanctimonious) exercising my spiritual self. 

So I thought I’d chat this week about how to achieve a balanced life and what, to me, is important to keep in mind while doing so. 

How easy is it to live a balanced life? And what do we mean by this?

There are 4 areas of life that are, to me, all equally important. As well as exercising your spiritual self, you have to also take care of yourself physically, mentally and socially/emotionally. 

The balancing out of these requires discipline and life doesn’t just neatly fall into these quadrants on its own. However, these are still all areas of your being whether you acknowledge them or not. 

What do I mean by this? Well, saying “I’m not a spiritual person” or “I’m not a physical person” isn’t going to make this particular need go away.  But there are different ways to exercise each of these, and as long as we’re doing so with all four, we’re doing well. The key is to find ways to exercise them all.  I try to do this in the midst of life and business and as a result I think I am happier, healthier….and a little less rounded.

Physically, I’m motivated by having a healthy mind and body. As I said, I love the great outdoors -we do live in the Highlands after all. Getting out and about, whether this is through hiking, cycling, running or strolling along the road to get the paper in the morning, means we can enjoy our area and living here even more. 

But because some people find exercise more demanding than others, it does become easy to make excuses to avoid it. 

“It’s too dark at nights to go outside after work”, or “weekends are for catching up with friends and family – not for exhausting myself in a sweaty gym.” It probably takes more energy to think up excuses than to get off the couch in the first place!

I suppose the key is to do something that you enjoy and that makes it easier to keep up.

Living with balance is often difficult

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Social issues are close to my heart. But for everyone, making meaningful connections and forging positive relationships is at the core of our social well-being. By supporting your fellow human beings you are not only helping them, you are also improving your own mood. Emotional well-being is enhanced when we maintain a good sense of compassion for others. But of course, it’s also about having a sense of humour, because at the end of the day it’s difficult to maintain anything you don’t enjoy. 

I’m sure everyone would agree that one of the struggles of living a balanced life is practically fitting everything in! But it shouldn’t be about not having enough time, but rather what we do with our time and how we use it. 

Mental stimulation comes from learning, reading and educating yourself. But when we live such busy lives, how do we fit this in? 

To me, there is nothing worse than dead time, or time you’re just killing. When I am travelling I often listen to books – making for a more pleasant, relaxing and stimulating journey. Slotting my ‘to-dos’ into each other help to achieve the all-important life balance keeps life’s vitality. 

Overarching all of this, is the importance of living a life of purpose, and making your decisions based on fulfilling this purpose. We all have the same number of hours in a week (168 to be exact!) my challenge to you this week is to fit in something from all areas of life, and make the most of these hours. 

Living with balance makes you much more effective in life. But that said, and while routine and habits have immense value, I also like having a spontaneous side to my character. Spontaneity is always good …and the great thing is that spontaneity requires minimal fore thought….so there’s always time for that!