Perspective
Pursuit Of The Elusive Life Balance And Wellness
By Joseph Lunani
What is life balance ? How can we achieve balance ? Where can we pursue this ? When can we get it ? Who can help ? Why should we seek life balance and wellness ?
These numerous and seemingly endless sequences of questions might be a barrier to this topic . I dare to ask : Does anyone need to pursue life balance and wellness ?
After four decades on Earth , many people may claim to have discovered their life ' s purpose , have clarity of vision , and have settled on a specific path to attain their goals . Some broaden their vision and dreams , while others limit them down to specifics . Many people are consumed by the need to restore their relationship with God , their spouses , and their children , as well as to achieve harmony at work .
Does this imply that we have been uninterested in these matters since infancy ? Is it already established that in our desire to mature , we end up fighting our way through , and the brunt of those numerous fights and struggles weighs heavily on our conscience and frail bodies ? Can we be described as good humans ? Or , after forty years , do we no longer care about other people ' s concerns and instead
want to live on our terms ? Of course , many of us have a boss , and the need to provide for our families motivates us to get up early in the morning to capitalise on our talents and abilities . Where we work hard for the benefit of the company , our boss , our country , and , most importantly , our families . Should we accept to live on these terms or carve out niches in the global perspective and live a little in our work or family settings ?
I believe that life is intended to be enjoyed . This does not negate the reality that other situations beyond our control will attack us and derail our purpose , motivation , or direction in life . Actually , within this framework , we must carve out time to unwind and pursue wellness . How do we do this ?
Plan your day
High achievers and performers work with the schedule . The promise of order and definition not only excites but entices us so that there seems to be forty-eight ( 48 ) hours in a single day . Ticking off a to-do list as we cruise smoothly into the day . Circumventing traffic , planning our routes against the traffic and optimising on meetings and breaks to get as much done as possible .
We have found ingenious ways of ensuring meetings are more productive using new tech ; where the agenda is shared well in advance as the meeting invite is sent through . Agenda contributions and accompanying research or points can be shared in advance and participants can interact with that material , comment , critique and verbally contribute as the meeting is going on .
With AI we can now record the meeting and produce elegantly intelligent done minutes immediately after the meeting . Follow-up activities and contributions can be captured and inform the agenda of the next meeting .
This means we must plan our day to the finest of details . This is not meant to create a jail of our time so that we are not flexible but to appreciate that time is the biggest resource we have . Let your plan incorporate possible disruptions to the schedule . Have the most important tasks accomplished with swiftness as soon as you can so that whatever comes in to disrupt your day can be accommodated to the extent that the diversions take you back to the plan .
There is no hack to get a healthy and life-balanced family in a snap . It takes small intentional moments of inclusion , sensitivity and deliberate moves to ensure there is harmony and growth in the family . De-clutter as a team . Plan the menu for the week as a team . Share the house chores as a team . Build each other and into each other ’ s activities .
Plan your wellness each day
Depending on your schedule we appreciate different days have unique challenges and opportunities . Here is where the early start of the day gives one fewer distractions and one can get more done . Especially leaning towards rest , balance and wellness . An early start could mean thirty minutes for prayer , one hour for physical exercise , another hour of mental exercise and thirty minutes of online news and social catchup . It also means less traffic to your first destination , lower fares for those using unregulated public transport and divine silence in the home or office before the
70 MAL60 / 24 ISSUE