“When you are balanced and when you listen and attend to the needs of your body, mind, and spirit, your natural beauty comes out.” — Christy Turlington
As city-dwellers life can be downright overwhelming from the busy streets, traffic jams, and crowded metro stations, to the stress of imminent work deadlines. Trying to manage good health — physically, emotionally, and mentally just feels like another item to add on the “to-do” list. What I’ve learned from my own personal journey and in coaching clients is that staying centered and living a balanced city life is possible — wherever you may be in the world. When you commit to find and keep your inner peace, it will become easier to manage stress levels and infuse balance in your life. Traveling often around the world for my work and family, I know well that with the right tools you can empower yourself to live a more meaningful and harmonious life. How you manage your personal energy and how you react to your experiences essentially has the ability to influence your happiness and well-being.
Here is an exercise I use with my coaching clients to stay well and balanced in the city:
- Make a list with two columns. Across the top first column write “Drains My Energy” and then on the second write “Gives Me Energy”.
- Concentrate on these five main areas: your health, your relationships, your work/career/business, your finances, and your personal desires
- Then one-by-one, in these areas, write down within the “Drains My Energy” column, the potential factors that are causing you physical, mental, and/or emotional disturbance in your life. These can be people, places, and certain activities.
- Again one-by-one, in these five areas, write down within the “Gives Me Energy” column, the potential factors that are providing you physical, mental, and/or emotional joy in your life. These can be people, places, and certain activities.
- Next identify one item in the “Drains My Energy” column you will commit to decreasing or staying away from for one week.
- Lastly identify one item in the “Gives Me Energy” column you will commit to increasing or starting again for one week.
After one week, take some time to reflect on how different you may feel compared to before the start of this exercise. Consider how some people, places and activities may be draining and causing a negative impact on your life while others may be raising your vibration and causing a positive impact. As you begin experiencing the power of this exercise, perhaps commit to decreasing and increasing other items on your list.
Once you’ve become more mindful of the shifts in your energy and well-being, think about how you can either a) eliminate the stressors you can control, or b) consciously adjust the way you react to them. Continue putting more positive energy into your relationships with yourself and with others or take up an activity that allows you to reconnect with your inner self. At the end of the day, we really don’t have control over other people and our surroundings — whether that’s living in the city and working with a disgruntled colleague or having an irritating relationship with family or friends. But we always have a choice in our behavior and how we react. I invite you to inquire daily, look within and ask yourself,
“What do I need to stay grounded, connected, and balanced?”
With every conscious effort, you can shift your energy and transform your life.
Originally published at lesliesaglio.com.
Originally published at medium.com