The most important aim in life is to be happy, calm, confident and relaxed and to feel in complete control of every aspect of your life. Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals and values are in alignment. The two major areas of balance that you need to be concerned with on a daily basis are physical and emotional.
PHYSICAL BALANCE
Adjust your behaviors in such a way that you enjoy high levels of physical health and energy most of the time. From the time you get up in the morning to the time you go to bed at night, think about things you can do to assure that you live a long, healthy life.
Seven Healthy Habits
A study was conducted over a period of 20 years on 8,000 men to determine what physical habits they had that caused them to live longer, or to die earlier than their peers. This study, The Alameda County Study, discovered that there were seven common habits practiced regularly by the people who seemed to be the healthiest, live the longest and have the fewest sick days per year. Those habits are:
1. Eat regularly. People who eat irregularly, at different times and in different amounts throughout the day, are more likely to be fatigued and have physical ailments than those who eat on a regular basis.
2. Eat lightly. Avoid foods high in fat, sugar and salt and incorporate more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean sources of protein into your diet to feel better, sleep better and improve your whole life.
3. Do not snack between meals. When snacking between meals, the introduction of new food interrupts the ongoing digestive process and leads to drowsiness and improper digestion.
4. Do not smoke. Smoking is so detrimental to the entire human system that it alone causes more illnesses than all the other environmental or hereditary factors put together. The very act of quitting smoking can do more to improve a person’s overall health than a change in any other single health habit.
5. Consume alcohol in moderation. The recommendation is no more than one or two drinks per day, and fewer are desirable.
6. Sleep seven to eight hours every night. Getting proper rest is one of the most important things you can do to keep your physical life balanced. If you allow yourself to become overtired, your immune system breaks down, and you become susceptible to illnesses.
7. Exercise regularly. The rule with regard to your body is “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Exercise can have a tremendous impact in helping you to feel better, digest better, sleep better and be a happier, more positive person.
EMOTIONAL BALANCE
The second area of balance that is important to you is your emotional life. How you feel emotionally has a dramatic impact on your physical body. When you are emotionally balanced, you feel calm, confident, relaxed, poised and at peace with yourself and life.
Self-Concept
Your self-concept is made up of all the ideas, experiences, decisions, emotions, knowledge and beliefs that you’ve developed from infancy. You always behave on the outside in a manner consistent with your self-concept on the inside. There are three parts to your selfconcept:
1. Self-ideal: This is the person you would most like to be. This is a description of the values and qualities that you feel are the highest you can have and live by.
2. Self-image: This is the way you see yourself in the present moment. Your self-image is a combination of how you see yourself, how others see you and how you think others see you…When your self-image is fully integrated, all of those viewpoints are the same.
3. Self-esteem: This is how much you like yourself and respect yourself. Your level of self-esteem determines your personality, your level of stress, how much enthusiasm and excitement you have in life, how happy you are, how positive you are, and how well you get along with people.
You achieve a greater sense of balance by, first of all, determining your values in each area – in regard to your health, relationships, work, and so on. Next, examine your behaviors and identify the things that you’re doing that are not consistent with those values. Then, resolve to change any imbalances, one by one. In bringing your behaviors into alignment with your innermost convictions, you start to feel wonderful about yourself; you feel more balanced as well as happier and healthier.
Just as a car with perfectly aligned and balanced wheels runs more smoothly down the highway, you also will run more smoothly down the highway of your life when you’ve taken the time and made the effort to bring everything that you do and say into balance and alignment.
Brian Tracy is the author of “The Psychology of Selling.” Special offer: To receive your free copy of “Crunch Time!” visit www.briantracy.com and click on the “Crunch Time!” icon. He can be contacted at 858.481.2977.
