There are many different aspects of our health and well-being.
Mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, social, environmental.
Our cognitive and intellectual abilities.
Our physical functionality.
Our mental and emotional attitudes, patterns, habits, conditioning.
Our social interactions and exchanges.
Our environmental influences: the water we drink, the food we eat, the place we live in, the area we are surrounded by, attitudes and expectations around us.
They all influence our physical and mental condition.
We all have our strong and weak sides.
Sometimes our strength is our mind, or memory or mental agility.
Sometimes our weakness is our lack of physical stamina or flexibility or strength.
Or the other way around. There is a vast number of possible combinations.
Usually, we are inclined to do the things that are easy for us. Things that we’ve trained ourselves for in the past.
Unfortunately doing only what we are already good at will only lead to further imbalances.
Just like only doing the crossword puzzles will not be enough for the mind, a little bit of yoga or tai chi or weight lifting might not quite do it for the body.
We need to address our whole being in a complex way. Develop our creativity, push our limits, and find new challenges.
So, let’s start learning about ourselves.
It is important to assess our predispositions, cultivate our strengths and really focus on improving our weak areas, achieving much more sustainable balance overall.
It is often difficult to admit to ourselves that we are lacking in some areas of our lives. The first step is to acknowledge that there are aspects of our being that can use some work and improvement.
In the physical realm, we are often tempted to prioritize activities we already feel comfortable with. For example, we’ve already achived a measure of coordination or flexibility and we tend to dismiss the need for some strength or speed work to be done, finding numerous reasons and explanations for not doing it.
The same goes on in the mental sphere of our development. If we’re good at math we frequently like to excuse ourselves from being familiar with more abstract areas of knowledge.
We often argue that we can not master everything and it is true as long as it doesn’t become just an excuse not to challenge and develop our adaptive capabilities.
At this time and age, most people are familiar with the concept of stress and the negative consequences that can come with it.
Unfortunately, very few of us have ever heard of Eustress – the positive stress which stimulates, motivates and generally contributes to the development and strengthening of our abilities to function in the most effective and optimal way.
A well documented and researched example of Eustress is the influence the physical exercises have on our body development. Gradual and systematic training leads to a harmonious growth and development, improvement of many biological markers, and positive changes taking place on the mental and physical level.
Regular mental training leads to a similar efficiency and an accelerated ability to absorb, process, interpret and utilize new data.
All of these findings point out to the realization that we should not be avoiding challenges in our lives.
Self-imposed challenges prepare us for the challenges that life will surely present us with sooner or later.
By regular practice of things that are difficult for us we inevitably become better equipped for dealing with them at the time of need.
It is obvious that if we experience difficulties with our joints, special attention needs to be directed in that direction.
If we experience lower back pain issues, we should take an extra close look as to what the causes could be.
If we feel overwhelmed by some mental tasks we need to face, this ought to be an area of a special interest for our training.
As soon as we begin to practice this kind of perspective, we realize that the opportunities for work and improvement are very abundant in all aspects of our life.
As soon as we begin to implement the knowledge of how beneficial the difficulties can be for us – a new realm of possibilities opens up!
Do you notice the blessings that come with every challenge you face?
Are you aware of the opportunities coming with every challenge?
