CHECKING YOUR BALANCE
When Nik Wallenda walked a tightrope across the Grand Canyon a couple years ago, he had to focus his mental energies on many different things simultaneously. However, there is one thing that he could never forget, and that was balance. Measuring each step with precision, feeling the changing winds, adjusting his body movement for the tightrope vibration, and carrying that long balance bar, were activities that all contributed to his balance. Without balance, Wallenda would have been dead.
Fortunately, you and I do not encounter the same kinds of physical and mental challenges in our daily lives as Wallenda did on his walk across the canyon. Nevertheless, we, just as much as Wallenda, absolutely must maintain balance in our lives every single day. Failure to do so can bring us great harm, even death.
Because balance is so important, it is a good idea to build balance checkpoints into your life. These are specific actions you can take as sort of a redundant backup that your balance is in fact working. Here is my list of these balance checkpoints:
- Invite the input of people around you to assess your life balance. Sometimes other people will see what you cannot see.
- Take advantage of mile markers to prompt a complete reassessment of your life balance. Mile markers can be birthdays, a new calendar year, anniversaries, major family events, and key professional or academic accomplishments. Due to the very nature of these kinds of events, you will tend to be more introspective and open to change.
- Ruthlessly assess current indicators of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. If you don’t like what you see, then some redesign is needed.
Balance was the central focus for Wallenda when he crossed the Grand Canyon. Likewise, balance remains the central focus for you and me as we cross the canyons of life.
