The Full-360 – The Context of Balance & Purpose

balancingWe all seek balance in some form or another. For each person the definition is different; frequently including the fine-tuning of a wide range of personal & professional lifestyle factors.

These factors could be:

  • formulating a personal version of work-life balance
  • finding ways to relax
  • personal growth
  • finding purpose
  • making meaningful social interactions
  • finding friends we value
  • seeking partners to keep
  • family dynamics
  • locations to live
  • career progression
  • health matters
  • financial security
  • investing in our home & lifestyles

With so many factors at play and each being an influencer as well as being influenced by other parts of life’s great mix, how can we find balance?

I’m always keen to convey something that isn’t too wafty and, although I have my personal ways to feel grounded (mood enhancing exercise, eating as well as I can and keeping good company), the simplest way I have come to comprehend balance is in mirroring it to balance in a physical sense. Mind & body are connected after all.

Learning from Biomechanical Balance

Physical balance comes about by finding an equilibrium. It factors in a weight load and finds the best way to root that in a ground which in itself might be stable or unstable.

According to Wiki, physical balance is comprised of four things:

  • Direction – finding a line of gravity that runs from root to branch
  • Perception – using our senses to assess what is happening around us
  • Vision – spatial awareness of our environment
  • Sway –  this can come from any form of internal or external force upon our current position

If I can accept that physical balance is based in a sense of gravity as well as a visual and kinaesthetic awareness of our environment, I can also accept that similar factors influence my holistic sense of balance, too.

I can also accept that “sway” may shift balance and therefore balance may be temporary as well as need to adapt.

Adaptive Balance

I’ve become increasingly comfortable with the view that balance is ever changing. It has to be. We change constantly as a consequence of what happens to us and what we learn about the world and ourselves within it.

For me:

  • Balance is an incremental spiral
  • Finding balance & growth happen one step at a time
  • Accepting that balance and areas of focus shift as we evolve
  • Allowing myself to step back to observe my world while not getting caught up in emotions; observing what I do, my connections with people and situations and my needs
  • Working with what I know now as well as what I know I can do now to create both stability and progress
  • Welcoming, accepting & thriving on a gentle tension or paradox

Discover Your Full-360

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