Balance – The Key to Improved Performance and a Healthier Life
We all understand the need for balance in certain situations or at certain times in life. An unbalanced football team will be weak on one side of the ball or the other. An unbalanced golfer will either slice or hook his shot. A boxer will be at the mercy of his opponent and not last very long. Or how about a tight rope walker, such as Frenchman Philippe Petit, who walked between New York City’s Twin Towers in 1974? That was a truly incredible feat of not only skill and daring but of balance.
Our lives are similar, in so much as if we are not living a balanced life, it becomes apparent very quickly. Illness, disease, stress, obesity, anxiety, low self-esteem all result in one form or another of imbalance. The answer is not about just popping a pill for a problem, no more than it is about covering over large cracks in a wall. We have to look at why the cracks are appearing.
Balance is the key. Balancing our lives with how we fuel our minds and our bodies is an important way to prevent many of these issues and improve our health and our performance. There is no point having the greatest mindset going if we are putting the wrong things in our bodies and vice versa. By combining the two we can really improve our lives and get better results all around.
Building a routine into our lives is vital if we are to succeed. Having a plan of action that we do daily soon becomes a habit. If we have enough good, healthy habits, then things start improving much faster than if we have no plan or are doing things intermittently. Start out by writing a list, such as the one below, of 10-15 things you can bring into your daily life that are healthy and set on a start date for the first one. Do that for seven days and then add another one for seven days and then another and so on. Don’t try to implement too many things at one time as this can become overwhelming, create undue pressure and lead to failure. If you miss a day, don’t worry. Just take note of it and realise you are still working towards something you want.
HABITS
Drinking hot water and lemon instead of coffee in the morning.
Meditating for 15-20 minutes each day.
Having a green smoothie instead of fruit juices from a carton.
Adding more salads/raw food to your diet.
Listening to ‘feel good’ music.
Starting yoga or Pilates or finding a 10-15 minute exercise video on Youtube instead of watching TV each day.
Taking your dog or yourself for a 10-15 minute walk each day. You don’t have to jog to get healthy.
Taking up or re-starting a hobby you love.
Giving yourself 30 minutes a day of ‘you time’ to relax, doing whatever feels good for you.
Adding two or three pieces of fresh fruit into your diet each day.
Whether it is shedding weight or building confidence or getting a promotion at work, you must realise, change takes time. You didn’t put on 40 pounds in a week, so you won’t get rid of it in a week. However, lasting improvement is far easier if you build from a solid base and build good habits.
