Finding Balance in a Hectic World: Strategies for Holistic Personal Transformation

Balancing a hectic career with personal growth can undoubtedly be a complex journey, but it's one that can lead to profound personal transformation. By prioritising self-care, setting boundaries, cultivating mindfulness, building a support system, and embracing adaptability, you can navigate the demands of your life with greater equilibrium and purpose. Remember, adopting a new paradigm is a continual process, and each intentional step brings you closer to a more holistic and fulfilling life. You too can find your way, no matter the constraints.

The bamboo prospers in diverse environments, partially due to its versatile structures and unique growth patterns. This adaptable plant is capable of bending with the wind, without breaking, it will adjust the direction of growth to leverage the environmental conditions and maintain structural stability.  Taking a rigid approach to this journey of yours, could result in harsh criticism (self talk), wavering attentional focus (inconsistent actions), and meagre results. Be like the bamboo and take a wholistic approach to your journey, acknowledge and embrace the environmental constraints so they can be leveraged.

Be Like Bamboo

Photo by Eleonora Albasi on Unsplash

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The life of us humans in intwined with intricate systemic elements that will influence the overall experience.  When considering your change journey, no matter where you are on it, ensure you are considering the whole system of you in your environment to set yourself up for success.  Be unrealistic with your long term goals (yes... unrealistic), set the bar so high it scares you. While also being pragmatic with the short term steps that will get you there.  As each step in your journey gets ticked off and implemented consistently, your big audacious goal becomes more achievable.

When developing your strategy for change, embrace a holistic approach.  Start your plan by incorporating these 4 perspectives from Ken Wilber's Integral Theory work: Self, Relating, Action, & Systems.

Self

• The subjective view of the individual from an internal perspective. For example your thoughts, feelings, internal growth, resilience, acceptance, and maturity.

• What beliefs or meaning making might be holding you back?

• Does your goal inspire you, feel passionate?

• How much self awareness do you have and how might you gain more?

• How much mental capacity do you have available at the end of your day?

• Do you experience an inner sense of self love and value?
  

Relating

• The subjective view of what maintains a social or culture structure in place. This is how we make "common sense" as a community (on any scale). The things we assume to be true because that's how we were informed them to be.

• Consider the communities you are part of: family, social, cultural, educational, work place, etc)

• Are the relationships you have as part of these communities optimal for you?

• Where might be the assumed shared meaning making be getting in the way?

• Do you feel connected to community?

• What support systems have you in place?

Action

• The objective view of what can be seen. This includes behaviour, the field of science, physical reality, covering both the internal physicality (atoms, brain, heart etc) and the external physicality of the individual (actions taken, the body etc).

• When was the last time you went to the doctor and got a full health check?

• Are you taking action in the real world to unleash your potential?

• Is your behaviour optimal and aligned for you?

Systems

• The objective view of how the elements of a plan interplay and feed into outcomes for the whole being in the world.

• What strategies are you implementing?

• Is there a plan?

• How are the wider social structure enabling or inhibiting your life?

For a deeper dive into this phenomenal topic, explore this overview from Ross Edwards Ken Wilber Fundamentals: The Four Quadrants For Newbies.

As you go through this practice, recognise your tendency to emphasise one of these perspectives over the other, notice if one or more of these perspectives may be a challenge for you to explore deeply.  With that challenge, be open to playing with this new found opportunity, get curious and see what arises as you try on these perspectives.

Be the author of your own experience in this world.