Stay Centered

One of the fundamentals to achieving a consistent state of happiness and success is the ability to stay centered across all aspects of your life—family, business, relationships, and leisure time. Being centered means you are managing things from the proper vantage point. Alpine Ski instructors will always tell you to get into a position that makes you most resistant to being knocked off your feet: knees slightly bent, leaning forward, legs shoulder length apart. If you unexpectedly encounter challenging terrain, you are in the best position to handle it. This is an ideal analogy for life. If you stay centered you are in the best position to take on anything life throws your way.

Moderation

Spending too much energy on any one thing can knock you off center. If you love to surf and you do it so much that it negatively affects your work, you may want to make an adjustment towards center. The same is true if you work constantly and neglect your family.

There are a group of hard-core people that do ultra-marathons. These are multi-day races where contestants often run over 100 miles. I have tremendous respect for the group of people I know that do this. I’ve noticed that over time they develop chronic injuries. I just don’t believe that the body is meant to take that kind of pounding over prolonged periods. There comes a point where you can get too much of a good thing. The solution: shift back to center. For this group, maybe that means cross training by adding things like biking or swimming.

Finances

Staying centered financially means that you diversify the exposure to assets you own so that you’re not overly dependent on any one type. You instead spread your assets out across many different kinds of investments. Financial centeredness also calls for you to live within your means. That means not spending more than you make, saving for retirement and education, and creating an emergency fund for unexpected expenses.

Breaks/Vacations

If you are spending too much time doing any one thing, staying centered means stepping away and taking breaks. This is especially true at work. It’s healthy and productive to take small breaks along the way. Many studies suggest that for every 50 minutes of work, you should take 10 minutes away. It’s also important to get away completely by taking vacations. Vacations allow you to clear your head, reflect on your daily situation, and recharge emotionally. If you feel yourself getting consumed by work, do what you can to take time away.

Exercise

When you look at the most successful people, the vast majority take time for themselves physically. You’ll often find them in the gym at 5:30 am. As busy as they are they find time to make their physical conditioning a priority. It helps relieve stress and pulls them back to center.

Meditation

While exercise takes care of the body by providing a physical outlet, meditation addresses the mind by creating a mental outlet. So often we get caught up in our own drama or get sucked into a situation that drains our mental energy. Meditation offers balance by helping to quiet the noise coming from the mind. It is a space of reflection that can provide a wonderful sense of perspective.

It’s said that the best offense is a strong defense. Since we know life will continue to bring challenges, your defense is represented by your resiliency. Your ability to stay resilient is dependent upon your capacity to stay centered and come from a place of balance in life. If you wish to stay centered apply these 4 disciplines: 1. Keep things in moderation. 2. Be fiscally responsible, 3. Take care of your body. 4. Take care of your mind. If you do all of these, you are in the best position possible to keep your proverbial skis underneath you as you continue on to face your next challenge.