If you notice that striving for more can leave you bloated or overextended, depressed, imbalanced, and wondering, "Is this all there is?", read about this simple secret that underlies all life balance.
Ever notice how striving for more can leave you bloated or overextended, depressed, imbalanced, and wondering, "Is this all there is?"
Perhaps this is an occupational hazard of a deep commitment to learning and growth. There is so much to know, so much to experience, so much to accomplish! Trying to do it all can foster a gnawing hunger that belies the fact that our minds and stomachs are full, and by trying to do even more our life balance is lost. If constant striving is not the answer, what is?
I suspect the answer has to do with devoting at least as much time and energy to developing our capacity and as we do to accruing material goods, information, or accomplishments. In other words, we need to make room for enough. For noticing when we have enough. For noticing when we are truly hungry or truly curious. For noticing that we are enough, just the way we are.
Making room for enough is the first step to achieving and maintaining a balanced life. We make room for enough when we sit in the dentist's office simply noticing the present moment instead of diving into a magazine.
We make room when we walk to the post office even if it takes longer than driving.
We make room when recycle the stack of magazines we don't have time to read. We make more room when we cancel a subscription or two or transfer them to the library.
We make room when we meditate--even for just ten minutes and even when we're bad at it.
We make room when we listen as carefully for offers of assistance as we do for requests for our attention or time.
We make room when clean off our desks.
We make room when we wash windows so that we can enjoy the light streaming in.
We make room when we visit an old friend in a nursing home.
We make room when we pray.
We make room when we get up early-not to work out but to watch the sunrise.
We make room when we prepare a meal and then sit down to eat it with someone we care about.
We make room when we turn off the radio or television.
We make room when we sing in the shower.
We make room when we pay as much attention to what we can give as to what we can get.
We make room when we pretend that we are enough, just the way we are.
Here is the secret that underlies all life balance: You are enough.
How will you realize the natural flow of life and experience your enough-ness this week? It can be your first step to understand what it means to live a balanced life.
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Read more articles on work life balance written by Molly Gordon and find out how to use the power of positive thinking to facilitate your transition to balanced life and how setting boundaries will help you get enough room to live.
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