In the game of achieving balance, trusting your gut, trying new things — and most of all, accepting yourself and the outcome — is the key to making it work.
Some of you may call this playground equipment a seesaw but I remember it as a tetter-totter when I was a kid. I had a real fascination with it: both excited and scared to partner up. I suppose my size played a big part here. Being as small as I was, it was easy to get me flying up above the seat. Secretly, I was holding on for dear life, but I never let on. Likely, it was pride or courage — probably a bit of both — that kept me coming back for more. And I could never give anybody the “royal bumps”; I didn’t have enough weight to keep my counterpart suspended in the air then crash them down at whim. Needless to say, I got my fair share of the bumps and then some. But I never fell off…
Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it? Yet the urge to overcome my nerves and prevail — to experience that exhilarating sensation of flying, kept me coming back. Though I was only five or six years old, I had an innate sense of knowing how far I could go. The teeter-totter was teaching me balance akin to finding my balance later in life. Let’s take this analogy further by examining some elements that help in balancing your life.
Stimulation You need stimulation to be motivated to fulfill and complete the activities and tasks that make up your daily life. Without a sense of excitement — adrenalin pumping — you can’t get yourself going. The yang, like the yin of your life, is necessary for balance.
Fear When embarking upon something new, the unknown can be scary. Yet not exploring will keep you in the same routine where boredom can capsize your sense of balance.
Acceptance Who you are is who you are. Period. Trying to be like someone else because you think they are skinnier, smarter, funnier, takes you out of your orbit into someone else’s. Having balance here is impossible.
Inner knowing You already sense and know what is good for you. Taking the time to listen to yourself is key. Acting on your hunches, your gut feeling and your intuition will go a long way to finding equilibrium and establishing balance in your life.
Sure, life is topsy-turvy and up and down like a teeter-totter. Accepting yourself, assessing situations as they come up, and acting thoughtfully, will give you the personal balance you desire, so you can enjoy the ride — bumps and all.