A life in Balance takes Awakening the Mind, Body and Spirit
While coaching clients for a successful life and business one question that comes up often is, “How can I find and stay in balance in my life?” It is a question I get from all my clients, CEOs, small business owners and artists alike. In the last 15 years of helping clients answer that question I have a few good observations and life coaching tips to share.
Life Coaching Tip: Rest Your Mind Attention those with extreme jobs of intense stress and long, long days: To be your best and to have the best out-put on your job, the mind has to get enough rest for you to not feel overly burnt out. You might be able to pull an all-night every now and then, but don’t make it an habit or your health and emotions will start to fray. By that I mean for you to be innovative, creative, stable, and contribute, you and your work will benefit by good restful sleep. We Americans are sleep deprived from our school years throughout our work lives. You mind will benefit you with a good memory if you also daily hydrate yourself. New brain science tells us that the brain’s memory is supported by good hydration. Drink water vs over dose of coffee which will jangle the nerves.
Life Coaching Tip: Move Your Body To be your best physically, get some kind of movement every day. The body has to be in some motion every day. Get a pedometer and wear it to measure your walking 7,000 to 10,000 steps a day for good movement. Or get out and walk your dog if you have one. It will clean the cobwebs from your mind and improve your health. Having a PC in each home, many of us find ourselves in front of it for too many hours a day. When I wore my pedometer I found I was walking less than 1,500 steps a day around my home. I was spending way too much time online. Now I get on the treadmill for at least 45 minutes before I go online, just to make sure I get the motion I need. I have a personal theory that movement takes care of emotions too. If you have things on your mind, get out and move and it will lessen your stress and help keep you feeling in balance. I believe the two are connected and motion supports healthy emotions. This I have observed through decades of working with clients to have a great quality of life.
Life Coaching Tip: Fuel Your Activity You also have to feed your body every three or four hours to get the best from it. The brain and body benefits from both sleep, hydration and nutrients. This creates your energy. Do not start your engine without breakfast. Would you drive your car without gas or oil? Same principle. Even a protein bar or apple with some nuts or sliced turkey is better than nothing at all in the morning. If you eat protein every 3 to 4 hours your blood sugar will stay steady all day and so will your energy.
Life Coaching Tip: Lift Your Spirit Your Spirit and energy will benefit from connection with friends, family, laughter, music, animals, and whatever moves your heart. It does not need to be a whole day’s activity, bits and pieces can work wonders. You can put your favorite music on as you work on your projects and soon feel rejuvenated. It has been proven that sitting in front of a fish tank, or listening to Baroque music will lower your blood pressure. So will some gentle breathing or sitting in the quiet for a few minutes and thinking pleasant thoughts. Calling your loved one or a good friend can lift your spirits and keep your relationships rich and rewarding even if they are quick connections.
Here is an action that can help you find the right mix for you. Take a look at how you add energy to your being. When do you feel revived and energized? Does a person do it? An activity? Something interior or exterior to you? If you don’t know, take a piece of paper and write down all the activities and sources that make you feel like you just plugged into an energy source and you will have a menu to draw from.
Balance can come from small things. It is not necessarily evenly spaced at 25% 25% 25% 25%. It is whatever you think is right for you. It means staying away from the “I should be…” in your lives. Strike the “shoulds”. That is a robber of balance. Having your own menu is definitive, not a loose guess that you modify as you go along.
Remember a one-legged stool will never stand. You need several legs to support a great life- health, career, family, friends, interests… the list is different for each individual and can be long or short. Decide what is important to you and make up your own proportion of what is important and what you will devote to each area. Establish and prioritize what is important and you will be in “just right” balance for you. And remember this is cast in sand, not concrete, because as priorities in your life change, your can adjust to stay in healthy balance under most all circumstances. You are creating and designing your life by your choices, priorities and with your awareness which will result in increased feelings of balance and increased energy.
Kathy The Success Coach for an Extraordinary Life