“Happiness is not a matter of intensity, but of balance, order, rhythm, and harmony.” ~Thomas Merton
1. Recognize your non-negotiable needs.
Write down the top two or three things you need to do daily for your emotional well-being, your physical health, and your sense of balance. Include the bare minimum you could do to meet these, and ideal times. For me, that includes:
Emotional well-being
• Daily meditation and/or deep breathing (five minutes after waking up)
• Journaling (five minutes before going to sleep)
Physical health
• Daily exercise, even if just a walk outside (ten minutes around lunch time)
• Consistent sleep (eight hours—doable if Im more efficient instead of wasting time online)
Sense of balance
• Time to relax and unwind (a half-hour bath at night)
• Time to play (a half-hour of something fun at night, preferably with someone else)
Youve now established the bare minimum for your needs and created a plan to meet them. Even meeting the minimum might be hard. It might require you to ask for help or say no to certain requests. Think of it as saying yes to your happiness.
2. Set realistic expectations about what you can and cant do.
I have a habit of making a schedule based on what I want to accomplish and then feeling disappointed in myself if I dont meet that. My schedule doesnt often leave room for the unexpected, which could encompass tasks taking longer than I anticipated they would, or new opportunities coming up, personally or professionally.
If youre striving to meet your bosss expectations, you may have less leeway in being flexible. But when it comes to the arbitrary deadlines we set for ourselves, we have the power to release the pressure. I often worry that deviations from my plan mean Im losing control and decreasing the odds of doing what I set out to do. This actually sets me up for failure.
When I worry about what Im not doing, Im not focused on what I am. And thats whats enabled me to do things well in the past: not perfect adherence to a schedule, but focus and immersion in the process. A better approach is to set a plan, do what we can, and then adjust as we go. Whatever we cant comfortably fit in a day will just have to wait.
3. Regularly check in with yourself to ensure your choices are supporting your intentions.
Ive found some contradictions in my recent mode of operating, including:
• I try to do everything myself because this site means so much to me, and I fear delegating responsibility to someone who may not care quite as much. The consequence: Im sometimes stretched too thin to give everything the care it deserves.
• Im taking on new projects because I know Ill be happier for stretching myself, but Ive deprioritized a lot of the other things that make me happy.
In recognizing these contradictions, Im able to adjust accordingly. I can challenge the belief that tells me I need to do everything myself, and seek help (which Ive recently done). I can create a better balance between working toward future joy and creating joy in the process.
Take the time to check in what you really want—not just some day down the road, but in your everyday experience in the world. If you recognize youre not enabling that, make tiny adjustments where you can.
4. Learn from your emotions instead of reacting to them.
When were doing something new, our emotions run the full gamut, from excitement to fear, eagerness to anxiety, and countless shades in between. Some of these feelings are natural consequences of stretching our comfort zone, but other times theyre indicators about whats not working and what we need to change.
Ive learned to stop whenever Im feeling something overwhelming and ask myself these four questions:
• What led up to this?
• Is this feeling a response to ignoring a need, pushing myself too hard, expecting too much of myself, or somehow treating myself without kindness and compassion?
• Is this a feeling I could release by coming back to the present moment (like worry about the future) or is it something with a lesson for me (like feeling overwhelmed because I need help, or anxious because I need a break)?
• If theres a lesson, what can I do or change to apply it?
When we learn from our emotions, they become less overpowering and we become more present, more balanced, and more effective.
By Lori Deschene