We all understand the basics of balance in life: don't over do it, watch your input vs output, don't spend more than you make, take time to rest after you've exerted yourself, etc. If you need to know more about that, there's scores of resources available online: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=keeping+life+in+balance
There's one aspect of balance that I don't think gets talked enough about, but I see it as a crucial part of the process. How well do you know yourself?
When you know yourself well, you become more intimately familiar with the activities in your life that energize you, wear you out, or cause excess stress.
Knowing what you should do: Some activities are energizing to you, but not to others. When you know yourself well, you become familiar with the activities that help create balance in your life. It is especially important to recognize that something that benefits you might not have the same affect on others. For example, your passion for bungee jumping might cause someone anxiety and your passion for fishing might put someone else to sleep.
Knowing what you shouldn't do: Some activities that energize others will drain you. One thing to consider is that some stressors are damaging and some are merely a part of life. The key is to balance the mundane stressors with things that energize you and find ways to avoid the damaging stressors. Again, this varies by person: A friend of mine recently left an accounting job after only a year, and he was completely burned out; however, many of his former coworkers had worked there for decades with no intention to retire. When you know yourself, you know which activities cause extra strain on you.
This doesn't mean you need to quit your job if there are occasionally times when you are more stressed. It is times like these that you need to be more keenly aware of the things that energize you so that you can get through the draining time without burn out.
Things that drain you don't always need to be avoided. Eating food energizes your body, but without digestion and metabolism to drain that energy, the eating will make you sick.
I want to leave you with an Einstein quote that has been making its rounds recently on Facebook and Twitter: "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." If you are in a job/situation that you can't handle, it doesn't mean you are less of a person, it just means that it is the right job/situation for someone else. Go find the right job/situation for you.
posted from Bloggeroid
