How To Stay In Balance

There is a good chance that you are a baby boomer. You know the largest group of people ever born after WWII between 1946 -1964. In the event you are a baby boomer it sure is strange to be one. We boomers are all time warped. We still hear the same songs on the radio we listened to forty years ago. Marketers are always trying to appeal to us with retro cars and music. All the while Baby Boomers are getting older, moving along a lifeline like a mouse being digested in a snake's belly.

As each year passes time moves more quickly. One day you look up and there's more distance behind your cart than in front of it. Parents pass away and you lose that sense of immortality you once had. As a result many of your priorities begin to change. As these priorities change you seek more balance in your life.

Boomers grew up in a low tech environment that with exponential growth has become a fast paced, high tech environment. Those of you who are younger have lived in a high tech, fast paced environment all of your lives without the point of comparison most boomers have experienced. As a result, whether you are a boomer or not, balance is a significant issue in today's world.

Staying in balance is an important part of growing and maintaining a positive attitude. Much like the wings on an airplane if you go too far out of balance you'll usually crash. Balance is a challenge for all of us. It is easy to fall into an activity trap and get out of balance.

Balance is having time for the people and things that really count in your life. It requires taking time to step back and reflect on things from time to time. You want to set new goals and visualize them as necessary. In doing this, you become more fulfilled, well rounded and better able to respond positively to situations.

The best way to achieve balance is to set goals for those areas of your life that are most important to you. Writing goals will help you prioritize. When you set SMART goals you are making an important statement of what is really important to you. In addition goal setting helps you maintain your focus. There are many areas to which you can apply goals to achieve greater balance. What is important is to write goals that are important to you. This is how to stay in balance.

Business or financial goals are important and necessary for most people. Contrary to popular opinion most people are not motivated by money. Most people don't take their cheque or commissions, cash them into dollar bills, take off their clothes and roll around in the money all weekend. However, you often need money to fulfill your other goals.

I think of having money as being able to buy tickets to go on rides. You choose your ride. Your ride could be security, a vacation, education, or joining a gym. There are many rides to choose. The reality is all these things require money so setting financial goals is important for most people. When you write SMART goals you will dramatically increase your odds of achieving or exceeding them. Then you can buy more tickets and go on more rides.

Physical goals are important. Although good health doesn't guarantee happiness it certainly helps. I remember as a youngster playing every sport possible, taking long bike rides down to the river and sneaking onto a tennis court at midnight. Things tend to change and as you age. An increased awareness of the fragility of life takes over. You look back wishing you had exercised more and had eaten the right foods.

It's never too late to start but it will take SMART written goals to get you there. You are the magic bullet. Willpower is not enough as it is short term and elastic in nature. You know how that works. You avoid a certain food and then one day in a moment of weakness you eat it. Then once you've eaten guilt kicks in and you inhale them to catch up. Remember the power of your sub-conscious mind. Change is an inside job. You need to do some programming to change your internal picture. Your internal picture has been with you a long time. You'll want to work daily to change it. I'll get into balance in more detail in Part 2 of this article. I'll see you then.