It’s all about balance
I’ve been rather fascinated by the concept of ‘balance’, recently. It struck me that life is just one big balancing act and if we get it just right we feel happy and fulfilled. Take the fundamentals in life such as eating, working, sleeping, exercising, money, relationships, self-esteem, hobbies/interests and so on; too much or too little, in terms of quality and/or quantity, in any of these areas of our lives, can have detrimental consequences on our mental, physical and emotional selves and of others around us.
Metaphorically, we are all spinning a number of plates all at the same time. Each of these plates represent an area of our lives that we need to keep spinning at just the right speed so they stay on the top of their sticks. However, because we’re human sometimes we over spin a plate causing it to spin off its stick and on another occasion we might not spin it enough causing it drops to the ground. The strange thing is because we are so close to the situation it can sometimes be hard to see which plate is wobbling or has fallen off. All we know is that something is not right. If we’re very self-aware we might do a ‘systems-check’, and then find and fix the issue – getting that plate spinning again. But sometimes we miss the signs all together and just carry on. In cases like this, it can take a real crash of plates for us to stop and take notice of the lessons being taught. Only then can we mend the plates and get them spinning again at just the right speed; giving us back that glow of fulfillment and happiness.
A client of mine provided a great example of what can happen to us if our lives aren’t balanced. He explained that he had a rough couple of months since we last met. During this time, he had not been enjoying his work, for a number of reasons, and was relying heavily on his partner for support. Then, quite suddenly over the Christmas period, his relationship, with his partner, ended. As he put “my world, quite literally, came crashing down around me”. He went on to explain that after a period of feeling sorry for himself and self-reflection, that he has come out the other side. From my observation of him, there seems to be a new, more positive, ‘can do’ air about him and he appears to be taking much more responsibility for himself and his life. He’s certainty appears to have learnt the lessons that he had to learn and has got his plates spinning again!
If you would like to check how well your plates are spinning drop me an email at alastair@ahaltd.co.uk and i’ll send you a simple tool that will help you carry out a ‘systems-check’.