For boomers this may be a common scenario...you notice you’re too busy, there’s not enough time to do it all. You’re running around all day and not getting as far as you want, going from task to task or place to place. There’s too much on your plate and you are overstuffed.
You may have said to yourself, “Even though I really want to, I’m too busy. I have no time to just sit down with a good book or get together with an old friend, or take a class I’d like to. I’m just too busy for that."
“There’s no way around it”, you may think. “With all my responsibilities, my day is really full and nonstop. I don’t even have time to take a deep breath and relax.”
But is this the only choice, the only reality for you?
You might take a moment to notice your life is way out of balance when you are too busy. Especially as you move into your mid to late 50’s or 60’s and beyond, you simply don’t do “too busy” all that well. It taxes your brain, stresses your nerves and may drive you to drink or other bad habits.
When the body get out of balance an injury is more likely to occur, like a pulled muscle or a fall which stops you in your tracks so you can’t keep moving as you would like. Or your immune system breaks down and you get sick. You then have no choice but to be less busy. If you’re lucky it is a mild breakdown and a quick recovery. Unfortunately if the build up of stressing the body over time occurs it may bring forth a chronic, long term or even fatal illness.
When the mind becomes stressed from all the busyness, you may may make mistakes, lose or forget things ...more than may be expected coming from the normal aging process.
When the emotions become out of balance from overload, you may become depressed, angry, resentful, frustrated that life is just too hard. Why me?
So how do you then become more balanced? For starters you may want to examine your life and see it as a pie with three components, all fairly equal in size.
WORK...
If you are working at a full-time job ask yourself if your work is satisfying, or at least tolerable?
As boomers, this is the time to develop a proper attitude around releasing the overriding importance of work. For most of us, we are moving toward, or are already in, a phase when we cut back from this part of our life that was once of prime importance, and eventually we “retire” from the work force. Are your preparing for this?
PLAY...
Are you finding time to do what you love, to have fun?
You might write a list of ten things you really like to do (for some, generating these ten items could be a real challenge). After you have your list, go back and mark which of these you have done in the last week, month or year. Notice which you can do alone or together with someone else, which ones cost money or are free. You will then have a better understanding of how much “play time” you allow yourself.
SELF DEVELOPMENT...
Are you someone who neglects this third aspect of the balanced life.
Ask yourself, do you fill your life with busyness in order to avoid an inward focus.
Do you take some time each day to sit quietly, to do some self-examination, to understand and appreciate just who really are and how you might improve your self by changing, even a little, those patterns of speech, thought or behavior that do not serve you?
Is your spiritual life important to you and do you devote time to explore this aspect of who you are?
Living a balanced life, with less busyness, helps guarantee you preserve your good health and find more joy and ease in living, which, after all these many decades of driving and pushing hard, you do truly deserve.
You may have said to yourself, “Even though I really want to, I’m too busy. I have no time to just sit down with a good book or get together with an old friend, or take a class I’d like to. I’m just too busy for that."
“There’s no way around it”, you may think. “With all my responsibilities, my day is really full and nonstop. I don’t even have time to take a deep breath and relax.”
But is this the only choice, the only reality for you?
You might take a moment to notice your life is way out of balance when you are too busy. Especially as you move into your mid to late 50’s or 60’s and beyond, you simply don’t do “too busy” all that well. It taxes your brain, stresses your nerves and may drive you to drink or other bad habits.
When the body get out of balance an injury is more likely to occur, like a pulled muscle or a fall which stops you in your tracks so you can’t keep moving as you would like. Or your immune system breaks down and you get sick. You then have no choice but to be less busy. If you’re lucky it is a mild breakdown and a quick recovery. Unfortunately if the build up of stressing the body over time occurs it may bring forth a chronic, long term or even fatal illness.
When the mind becomes stressed from all the busyness, you may may make mistakes, lose or forget things ...more than may be expected coming from the normal aging process.
When the emotions become out of balance from overload, you may become depressed, angry, resentful, frustrated that life is just too hard. Why me?
So how do you then become more balanced? For starters you may want to examine your life and see it as a pie with three components, all fairly equal in size.
WORK...
If you are working at a full-time job ask yourself if your work is satisfying, or at least tolerable?
As boomers, this is the time to develop a proper attitude around releasing the overriding importance of work. For most of us, we are moving toward, or are already in, a phase when we cut back from this part of our life that was once of prime importance, and eventually we “retire” from the work force. Are your preparing for this?
PLAY...
Are you finding time to do what you love, to have fun?
You might write a list of ten things you really like to do (for some, generating these ten items could be a real challenge). After you have your list, go back and mark which of these you have done in the last week, month or year. Notice which you can do alone or together with someone else, which ones cost money or are free. You will then have a better understanding of how much “play time” you allow yourself.
SELF DEVELOPMENT...
Are you someone who neglects this third aspect of the balanced life.
Ask yourself, do you fill your life with busyness in order to avoid an inward focus.
Do you take some time each day to sit quietly, to do some self-examination, to understand and appreciate just who really are and how you might improve your self by changing, even a little, those patterns of speech, thought or behavior that do not serve you?
Is your spiritual life important to you and do you devote time to explore this aspect of who you are?
Living a balanced life, with less busyness, helps guarantee you preserve your good health and find more joy and ease in living, which, after all these many decades of driving and pushing hard, you do truly deserve.