Moving from Chaos to Balance

By Phil, May 26, 2009 2:37 pm

Extraordinary living – Creating balance

Reading time: 3 minutes

Many extraordinary people find themselves living in a constant state of chaos. This is a normal and common state in our global, information age, particularly for ambitious, creative and imaginative people. Descriptions of this state include running from crisis to crisis and juggling endless demands. It can seem like being a twig in a raging river, living without any choice as to what happens. This state of being often leads to frayed emotions, a lack of focus and a feeling of having no control.

Moving from this chaos to a more balanced state of being can pay huge dividends. It can help to increase the energy available to address professional and personal challenges. More energy allows a better prioritisation of actions. Importantly, a better balance often also leads to improved emotional wellbeing and a sense of being more in control.

Making this transition requires assessing the current situation and identifying some of the key reasons for the chaos. These reasons often include failure to prioritise, over-committing and having a lack of boundaries. Other common reasons include neglecting to take care of oneself and simply not taking time to stop and reflect on a regular basis. Take a few minutes if you can to reflect on what creates chaos in your life.

The next step in making this transition is to create practices to address the reasons identified. Some suggestions would include:

Prioritizing: Take 30 minutes at the start of each week to identify all tasks and projects you are facing both personal and professional. Prioritise each task as; A (absolutely critical to be done this week), B (would be nice to complete this week), C (if this doesn’t get done, no serious consequences). Focus each day on completing your A tasks, and only move on to B once all your As are completed. This half hour will really help to identify what needs to be done and save much time in the long run.
Over-committing: Practice saying “NO”. Saying no can be very difficult. Pick a day over the next few weeks when you will say no to every request (except where this could get you fired or divorced!). Prepare different ways of saying no nicely (for example, “I really can’t, sorry – I just have too much on”). Stay strong and you’ll be better prepared to say no in the future.

Self-care: It is important to care for yourself before you are able to care for others and failure to do so can lead to poor health and negative emotions. The “Magic Bullet” is a great guideline for looking after your body and mind. This recommends 7 to 8 hours sleep every night, exercise 3 to 4 times a week and regular breathing practice or meditation. Pick one area and focus on getting up to the recommended level. This may take time to learn and develop. As you adopt these guidelines you’ll find that your energy levels increase leading to more balance in your life.

You may want to commit to one of these practices or design one of your own. Making a commitment to change is a powerful way of taking control and starting to move from a chaotic to a more balanced life. Creating a more balanced existence frees up time, space and energy for what makes you truly extraordinary.

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