Balance is Key

Life means striking a balance between small and big rocks!

Life is a balance between holding on and letting go. It is also about striking balance in everything we think, feel, say, and do.

Over the years, having played multiple roles in personal and professional life, what I have realized that while we adorn several roles, let us remember that we are an individual first and striking balance among those roles is a crucial choice to feel in charge of ourselves and improve our contentment and wellbeing.

Here are my tried and tested five mantras that have helped me to create ‘balance’ in my life:

1.???? Integrate ‘quiet time’ in the routine.

There is a wonderful word in Bengali called Lyaadh.

Lyaadh means ‘sweetness of doing nothing’ and not feeling guilty about it! Similar to lyaadh is Susegad used by Goans, which literally means ‘quiet’. It is derived from Portuguese word 'sossegado', meaning yearning for ‘peace and satisfaction’.?

In the world which rewards constant movement and zest to prove ourselves, where we are tuned from our childhood to move from one thing to another to mark our success and keep ourselves constantly occupied, it is important to embrace moments of stillness to STOP, BREATHE and BROOD!

?A quiet mind is best place for ideas to originate and germinate!

?2.???? It is alright to say NO and set boundaries

The urge to say YES so that we don’t upset or disappoint anyone is bane to our happy state of mind. Saying No quite literally means to express that one will not accept or agree to something that doesn’t resonate with us. We at times end up living our lives on other’s terms. Setting a perimeter for self is paramount to accept, expect and moderate people’s behaviours and reactions towards us.

Let us not confuse what people say about us with who we actually are!

3.???? Each relationship is unique and needs time to nurture.

?Being jack of all relationships, but master of none makes it challenging for us to become a better version of ourselves! Cultivating each relationship requires different forms of care and attention for self and the other person.

At times quantity needs to substitute quality.

?4.???? Perfectionism is a myth. Do we really need to chase it!

Striving to be perfect for everything we take on can be extremely exhausting. Perfectionism isn’t about deep desire of being meticulous.

It is a want to become somebody and fear of being nobody.

5.???? Living is a wholesome affair

Life has to be lived completely, and not in parts.

Life has multiple streams and at times one stream will need more attention than the other.

Making one aspect of our life (be it personal or professional) the center of our existence is like quicksand that can easily consume us without our slightest awareness.

Wouldn't creating small moments of joy from experiences through varied streams be the ideal way of living!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving” – Albert Einstein.

Riding a cycle requires us to sometime speed up, sometime slow down, however continue to make mild movements to keep the pace.

Let us take a moment and ponder on making those mild movements through the multiple streams in our lives to strike the balance we desire.