We have been writing about all the things that make life work in recent posts. One of the most important things of all is the subject of balance. This may appear to be self-evident, but you would be amazed at just how many people get caught up in the unrelenting focus on a goal that they neglect to realise some fundamental life facts.
Fact one: We are all going to die, yes I said it, die
Fact one is, for many, a very disturbing truth about life. It is one that the majority of us do our absolute best to ignore, hide and overall just deny.
Life is a game that always has one inevitable and unavoidable outcome. Statistically speaking, it is a game where no-one gets out of life. Now, having been hit with this sobering fact, rejoice. When you live in denial and pretend that this is an event that just happens to other people never to you, you will start only to live what I call a ‘shadow life’.
When you turn your eyes away from reality and inevitability, you do so at the cost of missing all the other things that exist, that you will not embrace or experience. Remember when you fear a thing or deny a thing, the thing denied will eventually end up controlling you. It will eventually end up stealing resources, in this case, it will take the most precious of all things, life.
Remember a second wasted on the fear of death is a second that can never be recovered, it is lost forever. Denial of death lets you pretend that you will live forever, this gives you permission to not do things in the now moment, as mistakenly you think there is all the time in the world. This, of course, leads to procrastination.
Fact Two: The brain works on an electrochemical exchange
We are interested at this point in the chemical part, unlike a computer that is just electro. The computer is powered from an external source that drives the electrical connections and sequences. Turn the power off, and everything just stops immediately.
The chemical process within the brain has a build up of neural transmitters that when you have a thought it flows from one point to another. When the chemicals are reduced or exhausted the process stops. This is the equivalent of turning off the power on a computer, however, unlike a computer, the screen doesn’t go blank (in some people, it just looks that way) the brain just diverts around this area, so the efficiency is reduced.
It is often characterised by forgetfulness, anxiety, lack of imagination and creativity. By doing the polar opposite for even a short period of time the chemicals can build up, and that part of the brain can start to function normally again.
Fact three: The subject of balance
This is an amazingly useful and powerful understanding to get your head around. Often when we are going after an objective, we can become so focused on it that we forget to smell the roses. To me, it is important to have multiple goals all running simultaneously in different sections of your life.
For each goal, you have to have an opposite balancing goal.
- Work goals have to be played.
- Relationship goals with others have to have a balance of relationship with self.
- Career goals will have to have a corresponding charity.
- Work time must have the relevant play time.
Personally, I like to go fishing. When I catch the fish, I admire it and then just put it back.
