Balanced chapter 1

Its funny. When we hit on a good thing, we tend to think life is all about that thing. For instance: we got our dream job, and think life is all about our job. We experience the benefits of going to the gym, and think life is all about gym. We notice the positive reactions we get when we have a haircut, and think life is all about our hairstyle.

For optimum benefit, however, everything you do in life needs to be balanced. Because if you went to the gym 7 days a week, you'd soon suffer from over training. If you worked a hundred hours a week, you'd soon burn out. And if you cut your hair every day, you'd soon be wearing a wig. Simplyput: to get the most out of life, you need time to recover and space to grow.

In karate i see a lack of balance all the time. People think the harder, faster and longer they train the better they'll become.In a sense they're right-it takes hard work to master a skill. But they forget a fundamental lesson: if you want to move forward with force, you need stability.As a child, you couldn't learn how to ride a bike without stabilizers or a helping hand. You needed balance to move forwards. The same applies to all areas of life. No balance, no progress.

But let's not be unbalanced about being in balance. You see, the concept is often misunderstood. Most people think there's a happy medium where you can operate all of the time. And if you're not there, well, then you're doing something wrong. When in reality we will always be in and out of balance. Stand on one foot and you'll notice you continually have to make adjustments to stay there. Likewise, in life, you'll always have to make adjustments to stay where you want to be.

So instead of trying constantly to balance all areas of your life, acknowledge that anything important, and anything done well, will sometimes demand your full attention and pull you out of balance.