Obsession … single-mindedness … tunnel vision. How important is balance to health and longevity? When I say it like that, I think of balance as a kind of scale on which my life activities are weighed, like the scale the blindfolded Lady Justice holds in her hand. In the corporate world, “work-life balance” is a buzzword these days. It’s actually one that I take seriously, at least from that perspective.
Physical balance, according to Harvard Health, “requires the coordination of several parts of the body: the central nervous system, inner ear, muscles, bones, and joints.” But what is balance? It is simply the ability to stay upright. I spent several years in the Navy, and there when we spent long periods of time at sea, we would say we had “sea legs,” meaning we had adjusted to the constant movement of the ship and could maintain our balance, usually without even thinking about it. We also experienced a similar need to adjust to the non-movement of our foundation when we came ashore. You might call that “land legs”, when we had to adjust to the lack of movement. Maintaining balance in different environments requires adaptation, the concept we discussed in the last episode.
In the middle of 2018, I had made physical fitness a priority, and I was concerned that I might be neglecting other parts of my life. Indeed, from time to time, priorities change tactically, if not strategically. So currently, I am spending a good portion of my nights and weekends training for an upcoming certification test that’s important to my career. Once that is done, I hope to make work a lower priority.
Priorities are important, but just because something is my top priority, I don’t necessarily need to make it the overwhelming consumer of my time and other resources. When I have a decision to make, that is when priorities come into play. Priorities make decisions easier when I can associate the different options with things I have already prioritized.
What happens when I go against my priorities? When my actions betray my intentions? It’s a problem. The ideal state is one of integrity. Integrity can be defined as wholeness, completeness, and adherence to a code. That code, in this case, is my list of priorities. If I have perfect integrity, my actions align perfectly with my priorities.
So, in addition to achieving balance as opposed to obsession, I seek integrity. That which keeps each priority where it should be. I think both of these concepts work together and, like many things, can only be achieved through practice. My task for myself today, to achieve my goal of living a long, healthy, happy, and active life right up to the end, is to keep integrity foremost in my mind. Priorities being set, that is what will get me to my goal.
Photo by Damir Mijailovic: https://www.pexels.com/photo/dancer-in-overpass-bridge-in-city-5654493/