Balance seems to be a magical concept. We think of balance almost as freedom. When we have balance, we think we are therefore not overly taxed with one driving concern. When we only have one thing on our mind continuously doing loops, we are experiencing anxiety.
Therefore, balance can be considered a freedom from anxiety. Work life balance is a little different. In this concept, people are usually seeking some personal time to balance out the maybe overwhelming demands of work. The more taxed we feel at work, the more we desire relief. What we do with the relief can be important.
Balance begins with having several values we cherish and enjoy in our lives to feel we are living to our expectations. What are some important values? We enjoy success, love, growth, health, and relaxation. We get these values or qualities in our lives by first planning for them.
The best way to experience balance begins with good time management. We need to include the important activities we value into each day. Having better balance will make us more productive because we will be bringing better focus to our efforts.
I teach surfing as well as coaching for thriving and my surf students usually start off anxious. When they are anxious, they can’t learn. They can’t focus on what they have learned so that they can apply it. Once they become less anxious because they have become more comfortable in the ocean, they start progressing.
Our life is the same. When we are anxious, we are less effective. Anxiety is brain waves in excess of 30 hertz. Our most relaxed states of wakefulness are the theta and alpha stages in which brain waves are 10 to 14 hertz. These are states of meditating and relaxation. Then we move to the beta stage of doing. In this stage of brain hertz, we can progress using all our faculties of intellect, intuition, creativity, and focus.
Flow is the highest state of peak performance in which we are engaged in something in which we have confidence and are not distracted by our own self-judgement or anything occurring around us. It is the state for extreme athletes and anyone performing at their peak. It is freedom and bliss.
Sacrificing our freedom and bliss for anxiety states keeps us from progressing. You owe to everyone who has demands on you to deliver your best state of being. People who have demands on you must support your need for balance and give you the time.
What are some qualities I need in my life every day? I begin my day with a few stretches and weight work. Then I meditate. My next activity is creativity in which I write and podcast. Then I progress to exercise or perhaps I have to teach. Then I want the ability to eat healthy. I need relaxation in my schedule. I have learning as a priority which may be study or reading. At the end of the day, I have included the activities that to me are purposeful and who I am.
At the end of each day I want to feel the day was purposeful and expressed me. I have contribution high on my list of priorities and so I evaluate who I helped with my days activities or at least tried to help. Becoming a better me gives me a better chance to contribute. Having my life in balance means I am bringing my best focus to each activity. Bringing my best focus creates more peak performances.
What can make you happier than having peak performances during the day? Yes, love and companionship and they also can be the target for peak experiences. Having time blocks for your most important activities can create a break from the most onerous tasks. I always have something to look forward to if I have a time block that is difficult.
***
Podcasts: Would you like to listen to all these posts on podcast. Tune into my channel for listening on the go. Everything About Podcasts
As a Thriving Worker Consultant, I can engage in conversations with employers on how to begin the process of helping workers thrive and reach peak performance. It begins with a conversation to see how far an organization is willing to go to change the culture for workers.
Great practices for daily living can be learned with the Markap Series of Books. If your organization would like live presentations or Zoom meetings, they can be arranged for small to large groups.
Most of us tell ourselves a story about how the world works. We can call…
People into affirmations and positive thinking will say that mindset is key. Most of us…
How you see things is probably a limited view of reality, but it is your…
Thriving is about lifestyle. Getting rich is about making money. Can someone get rich and…
Right now, I see adversity all around us. Financial markets certainly are afraid and even…
If there is single problem organizations seem to focus on it is worker engagement. One…