The Cliché of Balance

The world we are living in is changing at a fast pace. Never before in the history of mankind that change was so enormous and rapid. This roller coaster ride of change is affecting every aspect of our lives. From relationship to work, from the pursuit of happiness to the quest for spirituality. Some authors have called it a Future Shock, others have called it Mega Trends, but whatever the tag you give, it is there.

In spite of the massive change what is interesting to note is the emergence of a substantial amount of new thinking and awareness about who we are as human being? What makes us click? What is our real nature? How do we relate to others both in our personal and in professional lives? No time in history can be more significant than the present to re look at our lives and how we relate to it. One of the aspects of today's fast paced life is our involvement with work. Looking at work and life more closely reveals what I call the need of a balanced approach. But the question is what balance means to us in today's changing times? Clearly, we can all define balance in many ways but most of all today's time has given us an opportunity to create a definition of Balance of our own.

Balance is not a public affair. It does not reside in the public domain. It is a very personal and intimate aspect of each and every one of us. The best thing is we all know about it, we know how to achieve it in our lives as well. We have an understanding about it but what we really lack is the will to apply it in our lives. Upon closer look balance is nothing but a life, which is honest when it comes to relationships. It means living a life that integrates the need of our body, heart, mind and soul both at the personal and public levels. It also means to have a harmony between the polarities that exist within us. Mind you, we cannot go away with polarities, they are bound to exist in our lives. The bad will always exist with the good, the positive will always exist with the negative. However, balance makes it possible to have the existence of these polarities in such a way that we tend to benefit from them.

Above all, balance is not a static condition. On the contrary it is a process that must be looked and re looked daily to make it a reality. And when that happens it will again gain its lost importance that made it a Cliché.

Amyn Lalji is a Creativity and Leadership Coach. He helps individuals and organisations unblock their creative spirit and create fulfilling lives. He is also the author of "Bumped into the Wall - A Tool for Unblocking your Creativity and Releasing Your Creative Spirit" published in 2005. He is the founder of YouPerform, a Creativity and Leadership Coaching Company. For more information see http://www.youperform.com or email performance@youperform.com