When we step back and look at our life we can easily come up with a wish list: “I wish I were exercising more often, eating more vegetables, meditating daily, spending more time with my family, reading more,” and so on. To evaluate your level of balance, try the following to guide your health makeover:
Draw a cross and put numbers on each leg, starting from 0 at the point of intersection then increment in tens until you reach 50 at the end of each line.
Write an aspect of your life at the end of each line such as:
• Social (time spent with family and friends)
• Intellectual (job and studies)
• Physical care (exercise, shopping, cleaning, eating)
• Spiritual (meditation, serving others, studying inspirational texts)
Give each axis a numeric value depending of how much time you are spending on that aspect of your life. Make sure all four numbers add up to 100, if you need to extend any of them beyond 50 you may.
When you join the points together you should end up with a diamond shape. In an ideal distribution you would be investing 25 percent of your time and energy on each aspect.
With this tool you can find out what you need to spend more time on and then plan activities to strengthen the weak side.
Some activities that could greatly increase your health are:
Social
• Spend time with your family
• Plan a special date with your spouse
• Have tea or coffee with your best friend
Intellectual
• Sign up for a new class
• Set a time of day to read
• Join a book club
Physical Care
• Find a friend who would like to exercise with you
• Walk or ride your bike to work or school
• Place fruit in visible areas such as the kitchen
• Avoid buying sweets, juices, and alcoholic beverages
Spiritual
• Set time aside to pray
• Invite friends over to pray or meditate together
• Plan a fun activity for the children in your neighborhood
• Visit an orphanage
This article originally appeared on page 25 of the beijingkids October 2015 issue. Click here to read the issue for free on Issuu.com. To find out how you can get your own copy, email distribution@truerun.com.
Photo: Courtesy of wikimedia commons