“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”—Albert Einstein
The fourth of Lauryn Axelrod’s Ten Words: An Interspiritual Guide to Becoming Better People in a Better World is “balance.” It may seem like one of the easiest words in practice, but life is constantly throwing things at us to disrupt our balance—work, health, finances, relationships, etc.
“Balance”, biomechanically, is the ability to maintain posture within one’s base of support. According to Carmine’s Law, Balance = Strength + Posture.
Well-centered fitness is all about balance—Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social (SPIES). It is in the name, after all.
So, how do we practice balance in our lives? With continuous effort. Life is, indeed, like riding a bicycle. We must keep moving to keep our balance. Balance is about making small (sometimes major) adjustments to regain our center. Journaling and mindful practices like meditation are a start. Keeping physically active with purposeful exercise and recreational physical activity need to be habitual. Conscious effort and planning in our relationships are essential. Having a “growth mindset”, Spiritually, Physically, Intellectually, Emotionally, and Socially, is keeping the “bicycle” moving.
Opportunity costs. Our efforts in life are either moving us toward our center or away from our center—toward balance or away from balance.
Initially, like learning to ride a bicycle, maintaining balance requires a great deal of effort and there will be times when we “fall.” With practice, however, balance will become more reflexive, more automatic. Keep moving forward.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!!