Creating emotional balance

We hear health gurus discuss states of balance. Balance is akin to states of happiness and well-being, yet it’s easier to define than achieve.

However, feeling happy is a habit that requires training and regular practice. Take the following actions to reach a greater state of happiness, these ideas have definitely helped us lately!

Breathing

Oxygen is essential to human life.  It’s easy to take fresh air and the act of breathing for granted.  When you’re feeling stressed, take a moment to devote your mind and body to taking ten deep breaths.

Breathe deeply and envision the number as you exhale.  Do it ten times, devoting a moment or two to the act.  You’ll feel more focused and relaxed.

Thanking

Gratitude is one of life’s simple and great gifts.  Make it routine to stop at intervals throughout the day, look around, and identify things you appreciate.  It can be a bus driver, a family member, a public figure, or the food you’re eating.

Feeling gratitude and the act of thanking reminds us that we’re constantly receiving in life and part of a larger system of giving and getting.  When you’re feeling down, don’t forget to feel thankful for the things that make you happy.

Changing

Would you like to be a better person tomorrow than you are today?  It requires consistent observation and change.  For example, those stuck in destructive patterns with drugs, alcohol, or toxic relationships learn to react rather than act in the moment.

Hurtful language and destructive behavior becomes habitual.  Yet, we must learn to be in the moment rather than react.  Changing for the better is a constant gift we can grant ourselves with introspection and a will to change.  Long term addiction treatment centers house the knowledge and resources to help you change your life.

Feeling

Being emotional is sometimes associated with negativity - an emotional woman is too fussy and a sensitive man is not really a man.  Those are ludicrous and hateful assumptions.  Actually, sensitive people are associated with higher intelligence and deeper relationships.

Horrible relationships of the past and abusive people in the present affect our willingness to feel for others.  In worst cases, people think nothing good comes from being vulnerable to others.

Sensing

To counter feeling emotional, we must use our senses to ensure we are not jumping to conclusions or letting fears and desires convolute immediately available facts.  Those who are emotionally distressed may place unfounded feelings on the actions of others or events in their life.  Their unhappiness changes their reality.

Use your five senses to make the best of each immediate situation. Listen to what people are saying; look at faces; and, don’t let feelings get in the way of factual information.

Dreaming

Daydreaming is a pastime sometimes associated to loafers, but daydreaming is incredibly effective in helping people achieve goals.  Dreaming reminds us of our desires and ideal selves, and facilitates the future we want.

We must live in the present, but there’s advantage in taking regular trips in our minds to remember whom we are and what we want in life.


*Collaboration with Ruth Sirmans. Ruth Sirmans is a retired life coach and mother of five grown children. When she's not busy playing with her grandchildren, she likes to grab a pen and help others feel emotionally better.