Balance- 2B
This weeks topic is Balance. If you joined me on Monday, I hope you have had an opportunity to look at your current balance vs. your ideal balance. If you have completed the Fieldwork from Balance 2A, now it is time to take the next step. If you have not viewed any of the previous blogs, either start here or go back to 1A and work up to this one.
This week you will begin to work on making small changes to rebalance the things in your life. If an activity is pulling you one direction and providing no benefit and you could use that time to do something else you enjoy more, now is the time to make a change. Think about things in terms of the time you spend doing them and the amount of happiness or joy they bring. If there is an opportunity to replace something that is dragging you down with something that will put a smile on your face, let's do it! To determine if something is worthwhile, ask yourself what the time expenditure is and what your joy level is while doing it. These two will add up to your overall satisfaction level. For example, more time + no happiness = not worth it, or less time + lots of joy = very worthwhile. Figure out where things fit on your scale and decide where you can make changes.
Balance is defined as a desirable point between two or more opposite forces. Who defines what the desirable point is and what the forces are? You do! Your balance will not look exactly like anyone elses. For each of you, this is going to be unique to who you are, your responsibilities, your passion and your life. You can either go along with what life presents you or you can be proactive and look inside yourself and decide what fits best in your life.
It is ok to say no to things you don't enjoy doing and that are not in balance with what you need in your life right now. If something wastes your time and energy and provides no benefit to you, why do you spend time doing it? Switch things around and play with your balance until you find the perfect fit for you!
Questions:
Either journal about these questions or take a few minutes to work through them in your mind.
- What do you need to spend more of your time doing?
- What do you need to spend less of your time doing?
- What are you willing to change this week so you start to align your life so it is perfectly balanced for you?
- What does it feel like when you make changes that are true to you?
- What other things do you need to shift around in your life?
Fieldwork 2B- Be proactive in making choices for how you will spend your time. Before accepting a new commitment, make sure it fits with your balance goals. Think about the costs, benefits and time expense before taking on new tasks. Also, I want you to look at your current commitments and if something is not working for you and your balance, get rid of it!
Bonus Challenge topic 2-
Think about your life now and how your balance feels. What works and what needs to change? Now think of your life it it were perfectly balanced. What would it look like? What would you create? How would that feel?
Thanks for reading! Join me next week for Practicing Self Care!
Coach Gaye
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
2A This Weeks topic is Balance!
Balance-2A
I think balance is one of the key areas we can focus on to create our own perfect life. There are many different activities that pull us in opposing directions and it is sometimes hard to figure out what we should spend our time doing. For each of you, your balance will be very unique so this week we will take some time to review what you spend your time doing, what you enjoy doing and how you can make changes so you are more in balance. I want everyone to take time to look at the different places you spend your time and you will compare this with your ideal balance. When you look at these two groups together, you will begin to see what takes up most of your time and energy and you will get an idea of what you need to shift around to create your ideal balance. Look at the Fieldwork section to see more about this!
As a Mother of 2 children, I have struggled to find my perfect balance and I continually have to work on what creates harmony and peace for me and my family. What works one day may not work the next and I can not look at anyone else to define this perfect balance for me. I may be able to take bits and pieces of what works for my friends and/or my family, but ultimately I have to figure out what I need and what my husband and children need to make us each happy individually and as a whole. Yoga is an example of one of the activities that really help me feel good and feel like I am balanced. I know if I don't get to one or two yoga classes a week, I am not being true to my perfect balance. This is one of the things I work really hard to keep on my schedule because of the benefits it provides.
By taking time to look at your life now and to compare it to your ideal balance, you may notice some areas that are out of alignment. I understand there are commitments, jobs and families pulling you in different directions so I am not suggesting you become selfish and just do what makes you happy and forget about everything else. What I am suggesting is that you become aware of how you spend your time and learn what you enjoy doing so you can begin to implement small changes so you are being true to yourself!
Questions:
Either journal about these ideas or spend some time answering them to yourself.
- Do you feel balanced?
- What is something you need in your life to feel balanced?
- How much time do you spend doing that activity each day/week?
- What do you spend most of your time doing?
- What does this make you feel like?
- Do you enjoy the activity?
- What do you wish you had more time to focus on?
- Can you make any shifts in your schedule to take more time on the activities that are important to you?
- Can you say no to the things that don't enhance your balance and give you something back and say yes to the things you love?
- What are you going to do tomorrow to begin to create your perfect balance?
Fieldwork 2A-Place the following items in order of importance to you. 1 being the most important and 10 the least important. Be honest with yourself about how you feel! Change or remove any items that are not present in your life right now.
Yourself
Children
Friends
Job
Health
Home
Spouse
Extended Family
Pets
Groups/Extracurricular activities
Now rate these same items in terms of who or what gets most of your attention right now.
-Do these lists look similar or different?
-What does this tell you about how you are focusing your time?
-How would you feel if you spent the majority of your time focusing on the items that are the most important to you?
-How can you begin to do this?
I hope you are beginning to make some changes and I hope you are learning about yourself! Email me at coachgaye@redefinebalance.com with any questions or comments. I would love to hear from you! Thanks for reading!
Coach Gaye
I think balance is one of the key areas we can focus on to create our own perfect life. There are many different activities that pull us in opposing directions and it is sometimes hard to figure out what we should spend our time doing. For each of you, your balance will be very unique so this week we will take some time to review what you spend your time doing, what you enjoy doing and how you can make changes so you are more in balance. I want everyone to take time to look at the different places you spend your time and you will compare this with your ideal balance. When you look at these two groups together, you will begin to see what takes up most of your time and energy and you will get an idea of what you need to shift around to create your ideal balance. Look at the Fieldwork section to see more about this!
As a Mother of 2 children, I have struggled to find my perfect balance and I continually have to work on what creates harmony and peace for me and my family. What works one day may not work the next and I can not look at anyone else to define this perfect balance for me. I may be able to take bits and pieces of what works for my friends and/or my family, but ultimately I have to figure out what I need and what my husband and children need to make us each happy individually and as a whole. Yoga is an example of one of the activities that really help me feel good and feel like I am balanced. I know if I don't get to one or two yoga classes a week, I am not being true to my perfect balance. This is one of the things I work really hard to keep on my schedule because of the benefits it provides.
By taking time to look at your life now and to compare it to your ideal balance, you may notice some areas that are out of alignment. I understand there are commitments, jobs and families pulling you in different directions so I am not suggesting you become selfish and just do what makes you happy and forget about everything else. What I am suggesting is that you become aware of how you spend your time and learn what you enjoy doing so you can begin to implement small changes so you are being true to yourself!
Questions:
Either journal about these ideas or spend some time answering them to yourself.
- Do you feel balanced?
- What is something you need in your life to feel balanced?
- How much time do you spend doing that activity each day/week?
- What do you spend most of your time doing?
- What does this make you feel like?
- Do you enjoy the activity?
- What do you wish you had more time to focus on?
- Can you make any shifts in your schedule to take more time on the activities that are important to you?
- Can you say no to the things that don't enhance your balance and give you something back and say yes to the things you love?
- What are you going to do tomorrow to begin to create your perfect balance?
Fieldwork 2A-Place the following items in order of importance to you. 1 being the most important and 10 the least important. Be honest with yourself about how you feel! Change or remove any items that are not present in your life right now.
Yourself
Children
Friends
Job
Health
Home
Spouse
Extended Family
Pets
Groups/Extracurricular activities
Now rate these same items in terms of who or what gets most of your attention right now.
-Do these lists look similar or different?
-What does this tell you about how you are focusing your time?
-How would you feel if you spent the majority of your time focusing on the items that are the most important to you?
-How can you begin to do this?
I hope you are beginning to make some changes and I hope you are learning about yourself! Email me at coachgaye@redefinebalance.com with any questions or comments. I would love to hear from you! Thanks for reading!
Coach Gaye
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