Connection

“There is no secret to balance. You just have to feel the waves.”

It is important to understand that balance is relative: the focus of balance is always going to be different from person to person. There is no one size fits all.

For example, what a balanced diet means for one person may be entirely different for another. Both diets may be healthy, but it is the context that makes it so.

An artist lives and breathes art. The clothes, the home decoration, the hairstyle, even the words that artists speak are their own creation, deliberate and intentional.

A true artist is a living work of art.

An authentic artist is diverse in his art forms, with a lot of interests.

There are several ways to express oneself and a true artist recognizes that.

The act of contributing, no matter how small, allows you to derive a sense of self–worth. When you contribute something to the world, you matter.

You change the course of other's lives by what you create and contribute. 

Make choices leading to the life you want to create for yourself. Don't let your past hold you back.

Your life might not seem to be the best fit for someone else, but it should a life you are happy with. Create a life you love.

Start where you are right now.

• Align your life with your own core values - those things that are most important to you personally.
• Find time to do the activities you loved doing as a child. - join an activity group or take a class.

Listen to yourself and take action on what you discover.

Living passionately means living in the now, in the present moment. 

It means not being distracted on your phone, but being engaged in what you love doing. It means interacting with others deeply and fully, giving all your attention and focus.

An example of being holistically passionate in your life is the habit of constantly learning, absorbing as much as you can.

Having a life plan makes one get past the distractions and focus on what matters.Set aside an hour to do this planning exercise:

• List 1: Jot down your lifetime goals, listing everything that comes to your mind.
• List 2: Ask yourself ‘How would I want to spend the next five years?’ and note down the unbiased non-judgemental answer that comes in your mind.
• List 3: Ask yourself ‘If I was to die in six months, how would I spend the time I have?’
• List 4: Finally, list your most important goals, finding the common goals and aspirations from the previous three lists.

Looking through the most important goals, find the common thread and draft a plan of action for your life, a compelling Mission Statement, taking as much time as you want. Let it sit there for a few days and do not think about it.

Review the statement after a few days, see if it carries the magic that can be a guiding torch of your life, making any changes if required.

One of the many reasons we feel so overwhelmed is because we say yes to far too many things. It leaves you in a difficult place of committing to something you didn't want in the first place.

It's better to say, "let me get back to you".

Focus on a single "priority," not on multiple "priorities." The key to living an essential life is understanding what your priority is. Is it your family? Your career? Your hobby?

You will know your real priority once you know what you want out of life.

• Write them down. For example, wake up, eat breakfast, go to work…
• Highlight the tasks that you do daily that are in line with your priorities.
• The highlighted stuff is the important stuff that you do every day. Everything else is urgent.

• Some “urgent” activities will just need to go. Maybe you can wait until later after all to check your picture on Facebook.
• Some “urgent” activities will need to be delegated. Your assistant, if you have one, could actually pay that bill.
• Some others will be better organized. You could actually make a batch of lunches every Sunday and Wednesday.

• Salivary response: the more a food causes you to salivate, the more it will cover your taste buds.
• Rapid food meltdown: this tells your brain that you’re not full, even though you’re eating a lot of calories.
• Calorie density. junk foods are designed to convince your brain that it is getting nutrition, but to not fill you up.
• Memories of past eating experiences: When you eat something tasty, your brain registers that feeling and will bring it up in the future.

Most people think that building better habits or changing your actions is all about willpower or motivation. But your environment has an incredible ability to shape your behavior.

Nowhere is this more true than with food.