some of my favorite ideas, tools, and habits I developed that have helped me build and maintain a stable and healthy foundation in my life. These activities have been instrumental in helping me find my way, keep me on my path, learn and grow, and to see the world differently. Some may already be a part of your life, some may be new; either way, let them sink into your being and see what comes up for you.
As you implement these changes into your life, be patient. Some things will be subtle and feel effortless; others will require work on your part to rewire some of the habits that have anchored themselves into your life. Never fear, you can do it! You will find that having a strong foundation gives you energy, drive, and a sense of purpose.
As I have walked my path these last ten years, I have paid attention to what worked, didn’t work, what brought me joy and what caused me pain and problems. Much of what I have experienced or gone through is laid out for you to gain from. I want you to operate from an incredibly sound foundation. And I know that these ideas are tried-and-true.
There is no rhyme, reason, or level of importance to the order that these gems are presented; however, they are all potentially life changing. May they help build your foundation of success like they helped me build mine.
Chapter 3
Strive for Balance
bal·ance
noun: balance
1.a mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.
2.a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
“The man strived to live a life of balance.”
There is a quote that I like that says, “We are here to teach what it is that we need to learn ourselves.” I want to share with you how that quote played a part in my own self-growth process. During the course of leaving my family business, I was stuck in a kind of limbo for a year. In my heart I was ready to hit the road and begin my new life, but I had to stay around and continue to operate it while we went through the process of finding a buyer because of the decision to sell. I began to feel really out of balance and I didn’t like that feeling. I wanted to figure out why I was feeling out of balance. The answer was pretty simple. I was in a job that no longer fulfilled me and I felt that I wasn’t growing anymore. Well I knew that there wasn’t much I could do about this until we sold the business, so I had to make the best of the situation. I then decided to try to figure out how to bring some balance into my life. What I did was simple. I just sat down and wrote five things on a piece of paper that I felt might help keep me balanced and centered and then stuck it in my wallet. From that day forward every time I began to feel out of balance or out of center, I would refer to my list and make sure that I was following its suggestions.
One— Make sure I was drinking enough water daily.
Two— Make sure that I was getting some daily exercise.
Three— Make sure that I was getting enough sleep each night.
Four— Allow myself some daily alone time so that I could re-energize my system.
Five— Allow some time each day to be creative. At that time in my life, it was from playing the guitar.
This helped me out so much that I intuitively thought, “Hey, why don’t I expand the list and make it into a book to help others in the same way that I helped myself?” It was a great experience. I learned a lot in the process, I met some amazing people at workshops, and I know that the book helped many others in the same way that I was able to help myself! “We are here to teach what it is that we need to learn ourselves” played a part in the creation of my first book, Brian’s List!: 26½ Easy to Use Ideas on How to Live a Fun, Balanced, Healthy Life! As I worked on and learned how to stay in balance and build a strong foundation for myself, my path led me to help others do the same thing.
What is balance? According to the dictionary it is a state of equilibrium; mental steadiness or emotional stability; a habit of calm behavior and judgment. I agree. For me, balance is when everything is in alignment and I feel calm and centered. It is a time when I can make decisions proactively and not reactively. How do I know when I am out of balance? Usually when I start to feel overwhelmed and have difficulty making progress on goals. This is definitely my cue and a huge reminder to take a step back and begin to implement some tried-and-true methods to get me back in balance.
It is critical to have balance in our lives for many different reasons, most importantly because it gives us a solid foundation from which to operate. Without a solid foundation, it is very difficult to stay focused and move forward toward our goals and dreams. Without balance it can also be a struggle to listen to our intuition and guidance, which is crucial as we learn how to follow our hearts and move forward on our path. Another reason it is important to have balance in our everyday life is because balance makes it possible to be fully alive and to live by making choices in the moment. When we are in balance we have the energy, attention, and space in our lives to seize new opportunities. When we are in balance we can more easily recognize potential pitfalls without falling headlong into them.
Why Is It Important to Have Balance In Our Lives?
•We have more energy—Because we have eliminated many of the things that aren’t really important to us that have a tendency to weigh us down.
•Things flow smoother for us—Living in balance makes it possible to be fully alive and to live by making choices in the moment. We become proactive, not reactive. We make decisions because we want to, not because we are forced to.
•We are able to be our true selves—We can focus on what it is we want to do, not what we might have to do.
•We have a solid foundation to operate from—Without a solid foundation, it is very difficult to stay focused and move forward toward your goals and dreams as well as just your everyday common tasks.
•Our intuition becomes clearer/louder—The greatest thing about being in balance, I feel, is that we are able to live from our heart. And when we live from our heart, we are better able to listen to our intuition and guidance and act on it. Author Sonia Choquette has a great quote: “When we disconnect from our heart, we disconnect from our life source.” That’s why it is so important to lead a balanced life.
What Are Some Things That You Are Currently Doing That Keep You In Balance?
1.________________________________________________
2.________________________________________________
3.________________________________________________
4.________________________________________________
5.________________________________________________
Why is it so hard to maintain balance in our everyday lives? One reason is because balance can act like a moving target. From day to day, our own individual point of balance can change depending on how much energy we have available and where our focus is. Let me give you an example: have you ever seen a juggler who keeps throwing another ball into the air? What do you think is eventually going to happen? He will eventually end up dropping some of his balls, right? What do you think is going to happen if you keep adding tasks, events, and items to your daily grind? Eventually some of these tasks won’t be finished or successful, will they? Just like the juggler with too many balls in the air, the more things we have going on in our life, the more difficult
