Balance.

What does it mean to be balanced? To me, it means that you have a handle on the the various elements in your life and don’t feel that your heart or mind are being pulled too hard in any direction. More often than not, you feel calm, grounded, clear-headed, and motivated. The elements in life that require the most balancing can be divided into two categories: internal and external. Oftentimes, people focus on one more than the other. For example, you may find that you focus on external things–like work, relationships, and activities, and that you pay very little attention to what is going on inside your heart and mind. On the other hand, you may find that you spend so much time being self reflective that you sometimes miss out on the experience of living. Other people may be fairly balanced between the two but might want to balance out some specific elements within each category. Here is an outline to help us better understand the beneficial components on both ends of each spectrum.

1) Internal (Mind, Heart, Health)

• Mind: Challenging yourself intellectually vs. creating opportunities for your mind to rest
• Heart: Giving love vs. receiving love
• Health: Eating, drinking, exercising properly vs. resting and treating yourself to some extra yummies

2) External (Work, Social, Family, Fun)

• Work: Pushing yourself to achieve goals vs. seeing the bigger picture and enjoying the ride
• Social: Satisfying your social desires vs. taking time for yourself
• Family: Fulfilling your familial responsibilities vs. creating healthy boundaries
• Fun: Allocating time for things you enjoy doing vs. making sure you don’t overdo it

Both ends of each spectrum are actually positive; but if either side is taken to an extreme, something that is intended to be positive can end up being detrimental.

What works for some people does not necessarily work for others; and that one person’s idea of balance may not constitute anything remotely balanced from another person’s perspective. Create your own definition.

-Tiny Buddha