3 Simple Way to Create Balance
By Traci Trimble ~ reposted May 2015
Twice this past week I have been confronted with a strange and aggressive negativity from different people about something I am very passionate about – the concept of BALANCE. I was quite rudely told that I am “misleading people and giving them false hope by telling them that something as elusive as balance is real”; and then ironically that same subject came up with my long time mentor, who we will call DH, who said that “we are setting ourselves up for failure when we strive to achieve balance because it is elusive, therefore ultimately creating more stress”.
I whole heartedly disagree that balance is not real; I do, however, believe that those who strive for an equal balance in every aspect of their life will get more stressed – besides that feels more like striving for perfection than living in balance to me – and that is definitely not what I am teaching or how I am choosing to live my life.
For those of you who do not know me well yet, my purpose is to TEACH. My passion is teaching people to transform stress. I whole heartedly believe that stress transformed equals balance. I provide tools and resources that help you to create and maintain balance in your life and YES… I completely believe that balance is possible and real. I also believe that it is one of the most powerful internal radar systems that we have, next to intuition, of course.
Life is all about balance. It is about “being” in or out of balance. If you are out of balance or out of alignment you are in chaos. Chaos fells bad – it is overwhelming and heavy. When you are in balance you are in the flow of things which brings much joy into your life. You feel good and you are light. It is that simple – it is a question you ask yourself throughout the day… Will making this decision make me feel light or heavy? When I am doing this how do I feel – good or bad? When I am with that person am I happy or unhappy… you get it. And YOU get to choose it!
There are 3 stages for creating balance:
(1) Be very clear about what the priorities are in your life. You have gotten clear because you have taken the time and energy to discover what those priorities are, you have them written down and you are making them an active part of your conscious awareness ( you think about the, and then take action on them to create your experience). This is what personal development is all about – it is not a 4 minute online quiz – it is a discovery process ( or as one of my favorite books “Conversations with God” suggests it is a re-membering). Many people use the “wheel of life” to determine the areas to focus on, which often includes – Health, Career, Finances, Relationships, Family, Society, Spirituality and Personal Development. For example, my top life priorities are:
- Living on Purpose ~ teaching things I am passionate about
- Being in awesome love relationship with my partner
- Having a healthy & fit body
- My daily spiritual practice
- Thriving financially
It is pretty simple. I feel good when these things are in balance. I feel light and joyous. When they are out of balance I am overwhelmed, aggressive and act out of in anger.
(2) Discover what your key indicators are for when you are out of balance. You know what they are because you have become aware of what you are thinking and how you are feeling ~ without judging yourself. You are clear on what the consistent negative feelings are that you experience when you are not being your authentic self; or how you behave negatively when you put yourself in situations that are not in your highest or best interest. When we are out of balance it feels bad. So , what does that really mean and why is it even important. That is the challenge – many of us have just come to accept feeling bad. I have been there – sometimes I still go there – especially when my weakest priority is in chaos. My key indicators are Procrastination, Complaining, Blaming, Anger, Physical Pain (in the lower back area).
(3) For me, the secret for to be aware of your thoughts and emotions; it is also called Mindfulness. The important piece of awareness is to be in the present moment. I, personally, do this through meditation and energy medicine, however, there are many valued ways to achieve awareness. I have a strong connection with my higher self and am now able to receive the messages from body, mind and spirit. This was not the case only 7 years ago when I had zero awareness. Today, I am able to immediately recognize when I am falling out of balance and right the ship – some days it takes longer than others!
When I am not in balance I have to spend more time and energy on the area that needs my attention I needed to figure out my stages of feeling bad. I group them in the 4 ways that Universal Life Force Energy or God tries to communicate with us (an important lesson I will teach on a different day) – spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. For me the key “feeling bad” indicators, in order of escalation, are:
Spiritually – avoidance, procrastination;
Mentally – unfocused, complaining, blaming
Emotionally – overwhelmed, impatient, angry
Physically – lower back pain (root and sacral)
When I am in aware of creating and maintaining balance in my life I feel good, both in the general sense of the word and I feel good about how the specific priorities in my life are flowing. Things just unfold with ease and I am calm. I describe this as feeling “light.
What do I want my life to be like… Balanced! So yes, I disagree, and whole heartedly believe that balance is real and attainable. That is where prefer to live!
Traci