Lifestyle Management

An Ever Changing and Evolving Process

Jeremiah Gagnon

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781642998863
• Topic: Persönliche Entwicklung
• Subtopic: Persönlichkeitsentwicklung

When we are given the gift of life, the package is complete. Each of us have the tools we need to fulfill our mission. As with all new tools, things, and creations, we must acknowledge them and learn to use them.

This book begins to make us aware of the tools built into each one of us""the components we need to live a healthy, more productive, and enjoyable life. This book will take you on a self-exploratory journey the likes of which you have never experienced before. You will begin to learn more about yourself than you ever cared to. You will want to share this information of self-exploration with everyone you care about.

My wish is that everyone learns to understand themselves and their unique make up. For each to find their gifts and develop and use the tools within their being as they see fit. To overcome the obstacles and barriers they will face in life. Even more importantly fulfill their mission, purpose and destiny.

Chapter 1

Balance

Where on earth does one begin? When exploring the history and the evolution of activity, let us look at the beginning, as we know it.

At the dawn of creation, we have in the book of Genesis, been given a brief insight into the activity of Adam and Eve. What is apparent, that life and existence was paradise. No need for toil, just be! To touch, taste, and exist in a harmonious state with the environment. Life, from what we know from the written word in a glimpse, was a life of leisure. Adam and Eve were to eat (except for one thing, of course), sleep, enjoy the other creatures, the fruit of the land and of course, each other.

With free rein, how does one find balance? How does one even come to an understanding of it in one’s life when there seems to be no limits? How does one find peace? How does one come to an understanding that there is an impact on us, others, and all living things by the actions we take?

The key to all of life and survival is achieving a balance.

What does this mean?

It is different for every living thing, every plant, every animal, ecosystem, and/or environment. Without balance, our environment cannot survive nor the creatures within it. Although life always seeks balance and some will create their own in the harshest of conditions and areas of our planet.

Can we live without balance?

So many of us do, but for how long and how healthfully and productively is the question. (I will use the term productively throughout this book to describe the level of health, enjoyment, and satisfaction of our personal existence.) This is the real question and answers we all wish to find out!

Many an industry has been developed over the millennium to satisfy our quest for balance, happiness, enjoyment, and pleasure. All promise to make life easier so we can have more time to pursue an even greater productive level of balance in our lives.

With the world so vast and complex as it is with so many unique ecosystems and so many unique species of life in so many different environments, where does one begin to seek balance for oneself?

Throughout this book, we will be referencing one species: homo-sapiens; that of man. Other than coming in various sizes, shapes, and colors, it is a homogeneous bunch. This is the life form we share and must live within. Not to mention, the only one I can say I have experienced, being one of the same species, wearing its shoes, following its path, and studying it. I have never been anything else, and I don’t suspect to ever be anything else until I meet my maker.

With that said, let us begin our journey. The journey to a greater understanding of ourselves and what our needs may be to achieve this thing we call balance. To do so, we must first understand what balance is.

The term itself encompasses vast meaning. Basically, the meaning of balance is an equilibrium; equality of various elements; the equality in amounts; stability; and what I like most about the definition is “a pleasing harmony of various elements, a harmonious proposition.” Isn’t that a great thought and wouldn’t that be a great state of being and existence?

It is a fairly simple thing for one to understand certain principles and components of oneself. It is another thing to achieve a productive balance between the components of self. I will refer to this as the balanced point, the elements of which we will explore in great detail later. In addition, it’s another thing still to maintain the balanced point for it is never a static state of being.

We will always need to compensate for changes in life. We must adjust to the basic and typical life changes, such as growth, age, illness, accident, relationships, careers, and environments. These everyday challenges of life we can expect, and will experience as we live and work, all of which will require adjustments.

The further we go into this opening chapter the more perplexed and complicated it may seem to achieve balance in one’s life. Our quest, along with reaching it and means of maintaining it once we reach a harmonious existence and comfort level within our self and lifestyle, is to keep it.

It is easy to get that perception when we start to see all the things there are to consider, due to all of the interesting and vast array of variables and interferences that affect each of us. We are faced with many things that will affect our physical, emotional, intellectual, and social states of being on any given day.

Let’s look at the potential interference, or simply, changes that occur throughout typical days in our lives. We will also review changes that can and do occur during various phases of our lives which we grow and evolve through. Each brings a unique set of issues that interfere with our choices and decision-making.

We all love change, right? We like it when it’s good; not so much when it’s not so good. The fact is, the only thing in life we can count on and is consistent is change. Whether we like it or not, it is inevitable. Each year we change as we grow, learn, and experience life. The seasons change, each offer its own beauty, harshness, conditions and opportunities, as does each phase/stage of life. When or should I say, if we adjust accordingly, we thrive. Each day brings different weather conditions, new challenges, and new potential for any number of planned and unplanned events. As each of us get out of bed and begin to roam the house, go to work, school, live, and move in our world, we will experience changes. Even as we are driving down the street, changes can occur without any prewarning.

To establish and achieve balance, we must constantly make up for the many things that offset it, due to things that may occur from no fault of our own. Let us keep steady the scale, so to speak. This is a good image to keep in mind. Libra holding the scale—the symbol of balance. Each of us holds the scale. It is part of our internal makeup, seeking and achieving the equilibrium of balance within ourselves for our own lives. The tools are built into our design.

When I contemplate balance, I see the word in my mind’s eye. I see a vision of scales, a balance beam, and a tight rope. While holding true to my mission in life, I set my mind to the exploration of those activities themselves. Let’s examine the similarities of each activity just mentioned—the scales, seesaw, or as some refer to it, a teeter-totter, balance beam, and tight rope. These activities present an image of requiring an extreme focus. Also, with each of these is the need of extraordinary gifted physical coordination and body control—the very skills required for them to be performed.

Imagine if the superb control, concentration, steadiness, and musculature required for these activities do not automatically adjust to the other forces that play against it. The one performing it falls off the wire. The seesaw may stay in a down position on the heavier side; it is stuck. The balance beam is not stabilized and wobbles. The scales are tipped, never to be equalized. Hopefully, no one will injure themselves in performing one of those activities. (If they do, they or someone else may be asking, “Why did I do that?”). If an incident occurs as they will, one can get right back on the equipment after making appropriate adjustments and resume the routine. Just as with each one of us, many factors can and will tip the scale of balance. The balance, which in some cases, we have worked hard to establish. The goal for each of my readers, is to gain the knowledge needed to reset the scales. To learn more about themselves and gather the information you need, which lies within each of us. So we can resume our mission as we move and evolve through life.

In the world of acrobatics, there is one assigned as the balancer who is the base, the foundation, or the footer, so to speak. His job is to stabilize the others in the act, performing towers or sculptors of humanity. When it comes to our life, we are the balancer or the stabilizer. We are and must be the solid base. We must come to understand ourselves so we can make the decisions necessary that will help each of us to achieve and maintain productive balance in our own lives throughout our lives.

So let us begin this journey in search of self!

Chapter 2

Creating Balance

We all innately know and understand the balance of life. At least, in its most basic necessities.

An example of this is a mother and her firstborn child. She makes sure her newborn is nourished, warm, and rested. When the needs of the infant are met in a timely manner, then balance for its healthy little life is achieved.

Simply, it has no other needs. Initially, of course, it is dependent. The infant instinctively knows how to let those around it, of whom it is dependent on, know when it needs something to keep its little life in balance. It isn’t born with attached instructions for itself or its new mother. The child, as well as the mother, understands its needs. Of course, this loving, lovable little bundle of joy creates a huge imbalance in the life of others.

It is the wise who will anticipate and prepare physically, emotionally, intellectually, and socially for the changes. Arranging for the readjusting of the scale to assure the maintenance of a healthy and productive balance of one’s life during this major change, will make a world of difference for all involved. What is that old proverb, “An ounce of prevention, is worth a pound of cure?” So true!

Remember the comment earlier—interference—and I say that with a great smile on my face, especially with this example. A newborn is a wonderful interference in our life and more than likely our lifestyle. We will devote an entire chapter to each of life’s involvement areas. These involvement areas are key components/areas of activity to help identify balance or imbalances in our life. Once we have that information we can make appropriate adjustments when wonderful or disastrous interferences present themselves into our world. We will explore basi...

Table of contents

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12