The trick to self improvement is to put enough of your resources into things that will help your life go where you want it to go, and to minimize the amount of focus given to things that will keep you from making that happen.
It's a simple concept, but many people apply too much of their focus onto certain areas, while not putting enough of their focus on areas that need more attention. This causes an imbalance that ultimately leads to a lack of confidence, happiness, and overall contentment.
You could break down your life into almost limitless individual compartments that require your attention, although almost everything that you need to focus on will fall under the general umbrella of 3 primary areas: Health, Wealth, and Relationships.
Health - This obviously includes the health of your physical body, but it also includes your mental health, your level of peace with spirituality or religion, and also your general attitude and outlook on life.
Wealth - This could mean actual money in the bank or other assets, it could mean job security and prospects, or it could mean something as simple as your level of career satisfaction, and your belief in your chosen career to provide for your needs in the short-term as well as the long-term.
Relationships - This includes relationships with a partner, spouse, or significant other, it also includes friendships, the desire or ability to spend time with family members, and it could also include your level of contentment with how you deal with co-workers, and even strangers who are met in public.
As we go through life looking to accomplish goals in certain areas, it is very easy and natural to focus on one particular area, especially if we feel a serious lack of success in that area.
For instance, someone who wants to lose weight will probably focus more of their attention on their weight loss efforts, while not giving as much consideration to what is happening with their relationships, or with their finances.
On the flip side, someone who is very focused on building or maintaining a career will often take their relationships as well as their health almost to the point of neglect while they expend almost all of their mental energy on tasks related to their career.
For someone who is absolutely thrilled with their spouse, partner, or significant other, that person will often spend very little time tending to their health, yet they will spend money outside of their means in order to enjoy their relationship to the fullest.
In each of these examples, there is certainly nothing wrong with taking one area of your life and focusing attention on it in order to achieve success, and it is often the case that one or more areas of life are stable enough that they do not need as much attention as the other area5B4s.
However, we live in a society where people tend to take things to the extreme, and the attention that is given to an area of life that is falling behind is often given by taking needed attention away from other areas. We tend to overcompensate in our desire to lose weight, build a career, or have successful relationships, so those areas end up getting more than their fair share of the available resources, and the other areas suffer as a result.
In order to practice the fine art of self improvement you need to recognize that the key to success lies in balancing your resources so that all areas of your life receive enough attention.
Excelling in one area of your life, or even two, but then leaving the third area to fall flat will only set you up for an unbalanced - and ultimately unhappy - lifestyle. People who say that they don't really care very much about one area or another are not really making an accurate statement.
If someone says that they don't really care about making a lot of money, that may very well be the case. However, that doesn't mean that money isn't a part of their life that needs to be factored in. Very few people can make it in the world without at least a minimal means of supporting themselves.
The person who says that they are not really concerned about their health because they think that life is about "enjoying the ride" may be truthful when making a statement like that. However, t5B4hat same person who has a heart attack or a stroke as a result of their consistently negative health habits will almost always have a change of heart regarding their level of health.
Someone who claims to not need a partner, or who isn't interested in relationships with friends or family may truly feel that way. However, when the right type of relationship or social opportunity comes along, they will very likely engage in it because it is something that they can enjoy, or that they feel comfortable with.
Remember, balancing out these three areas of your life does not mean that each area gets an equal share of your attention. Whenever you are making soup, do you put the same amount of every single ingredient into the soup? Of course not.
Balance in life - or in soup - does not mean the same amount of every ingredient, but rather in knowing which ingredients need to be added in higher amounts, while lowering the amount of other ingredients.
Take a look at your own life and you will probably see that certain areas are taking up too much of your time and your mental energy, thus throwing off your balance. Redistribute some of your resources, and in so doing, remind yourself that all areas of your life are worthy of your attention!
Aaron Potts is the founder of Personal Development Part493ners, and the author of the widely popular Today is that Day Blog, which teaches about self improvement, personal development, and the Law of Attraction. Visit his site to learn more and to sign up for his free newsletter!
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