Monday, January 15, 2007
Magnificent Monday Motivators
Magnificent Monday Motivators SM ~
A System that WorksSM for…Work/Life Balance
Part I
A System that WorksSM for…Work/Life Balance
Part I
January is a great time to begin starting new, starting fresh. One key area in which to do this is with your work/life balance. Yes, many of you already know what I am talking about.
Myriad reasons exist for creating work/life balance. To begin with the costs of being out of balance include: sickness and health challenges, poor concentration, decreased productivity, strained or lost relationships, irritability, lack of focus, increased stress, missed appointments, missed opportunities, ineffective communication and financial burdens.
In addition to the opposite of the above costs, benefits to having work/life balance include living an intentional, purposeful life. And of course you more easily tap into joy and enthusiasm.
So how do you begin?
Welcome it. Give yourself permission to live a balanced life. Often people whose lives are out of balance are more outward directed, especially if children are involved. By giving yourself permission, you begin to turn your attention within in a way that is loving and nurturing. This, in turn, will enable you to show up more fully, in all areas of your life and work, because your life and energy are in balance.
Myriad reasons exist for creating work/life balance. To begin with the costs of being out of balance include: sickness and health challenges, poor concentration, decreased productivity, strained or lost relationships, irritability, lack of focus, increased stress, missed appointments, missed opportunities, ineffective communication and financial burdens.
In addition to the opposite of the above costs, benefits to having work/life balance include living an intentional, purposeful life. And of course you more easily tap into joy and enthusiasm.
So how do you begin?
Welcome it. Give yourself permission to live a balanced life. Often people whose lives are out of balance are more outward directed, especially if children are involved. By giving yourself permission, you begin to turn your attention within in a way that is loving and nurturing. This, in turn, will enable you to show up more fully, in all areas of your life and work, because your life and energy are in balance.
Open to elegant ideas then watch the magic happen. Personally, there has been a greater ease and flow, along with more specific ways to do literally everything, ever since I began opening to elegant ideas. Eric Lofholm of Eric Lofholm International (http://tinyurl.com/a6qre), introduced me to the concept of being open to the elegant idea. This is one of the things that has led Eric to being a leading international sales trainer. It is one of the things that has had a powerful, transformational affect on me and my business. After all, part of living a balanced life includes greater clarity, ease, flow, focus and grace ~ all part of the “magic” of elegant ideas.
Relax your mind and body every day to keep you fresh and alert. Let me repeat this ~ relax your mind and body every day to keep you fresh and alert. You are in luck because there are many ways to do this, such as:
- tensing and releasing your body, all at once or one part at a time. This can be done at home, work, in your car or while standing in line.
- stretching while lying down (before you get out of bed) and again while standing up.
breathing in deeply, focusing on the inflow and outflow of your breath as you do so. - rolling your shoulders, forwards about 10 times and then backwards. Follow this by shaking out your hands and arms.
- having a picture or image of something beautiful and calming that you can focus on or think about. Sometimes a thought or a glance is enough. Or take a minute or two. Enhance your experience by engaging as many of your senses as possible.
- creating a personal mantra, statement or affirmation that you write out and repeat often. This could be like, “I am relaxing my mind and body now”. Or it could be something as simple as repeating the word relax. Combine this with breathing exercises for even greater benefit. An example of this combined process would be to slowly say/think relax as you inhale deeply; say/think relax again as you slowly exhale.
Keep it simple at home, work and with all of your endeavors. Our lives have become more complex over the years. This doesn’t mean we have to make complexity the rule. One of the definitions of simplicity, according to WordWeb, is “freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort”. Freedom is one of the things we realize as we begin to create work/life balance. Now is the time.
In the Flow of Elegant Ideas,
Antoinette
(c) 2007 Antoinette S. Webster. All rights reserved. www.ASystemthatWorks.com
To find out more about how to create a system that works for
work/life balance in your personal and professional life,
contact Antoinette today to at Info@ASystemthatWorks.com.
