The Balance Act
By: Peggy Willms
(4 min read)
What does the word balance mean to you? How is your physical balance? Is your bank account in balance? What about your work, life, and play balance?
Have you really thought about it?
It is one thing to look at the definition of balance in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It is yet another to determine your very own definitions of balance. Let’s first start with M-W definitions. Were Merriam and Webster males or females – I have to look. Wait here. I will be right back.
OMG. What a rabbit hole that was. First of all, Merriam-Webster is 191 years old. You heard me. It began first in 1806 with just Noah Webster. When he died at age 70 in 1828, he had learned 26 languages. His book had only sold 2,500 copies, and he was broke.
Twenty years later, along came these guys, George and Charles Merriam, who secured the publishing rights. In the 1934 edition, the dictionary had over 500,000 words, up from Noah’s 1825 book with only 70,000. You go, G&C. Bottom line – all males. Anyhoo.
The definition of balance according to these dudes:
—Physical equilibrium. Even weight distribution on either side of a vertical axis enables someone or something to remain upright and steady. Between contrasting, Counterbalance, opposing, or interacting elements. Aesthetically pleasing integrations of elements. Something left over. Instrument of weighing. Deciding or judging. Regulate the movement of a timepiece.
You get it. Lawd.
Did you write down your definitions?
Okay, now let’s look at the word harmony. What is your definition of harmony? Do you think of a choir blowing out some notes in sync? Peace? Whoa, I started to sway melodically for a moment. The Merriam-Webster on the word harmony:
—Combination of musical notes in chord. Pleasing arrangement. Congruence. Agreement. Tranquility. The interweaving of different accounts. Melody.
You should now have a set of definitions—one for Balance and one for Harmony.
We are all “plate spinners,” wouldn’t you agree? Some peeps spin a few more plates than others. And some spin different-sized plates. Are you a saucer or turkey platter spinner? We turn those babies around until one flies off into the sunset, or they become so heavy they crash and burn. Regardless, we are all trying to keep things in balance – in harmony.
I love using the word harmony over balance. I mean, come on. Today, I harmonized my sock drawer. You wouldn’t believe those kids at the park. They harmonized on that see-saw for hours. The scales harmonized with my weight-loss goal. Geez, I am swaying again.
Harmony sounds sweeter, happier, and more joyful. Balance sounds like work and have-tos. What would it look like if you were to find harmony with work, home, and play? Depending on your definitions above, your thoughts and feelings would likely differ from those around you.
Today, think about ways to find a bit of harmony.
- How can you harmonize your body? Do you need to focus more on flexibility than cardio training?
- Do you have harmony in your relationships? Have you had a date night with your special someone lately? Consider a movie night with your teenager. Have you called your sister back?
- Is your nutrition harmonized? Do you need to add a few more grams of protein to your plan? Drink less diet soda and more water?
- You could come home an hour earlier this week and harmonize some of those honey-do chores you have been putting off.
Learn to see your red flags. You know when you need to act. You can feel when you are out of balance and about to drop a few plates.
I will give you a fun strategy. Use the word Balance or Harmony this week. Whichever works best for you. Use the word as an acronym and create fun actions to keep yourself in harmony this week. You can try my examples or make up your own. And the kiddos love to do this, too.
- B: BRIDGE: any time throughout the day, perform three sets of bridges each at 12 reps.
- A: ATTITUDE: every morning, before you get out of bed, get your attitude on point. Start with gratitude each day.
- L: LEARN: research and put in place one “save the earth” action such as recycling, composting, disposable to reusable products, etc. That is fun.
- A: ASSIST: Every single day, in physical form, assist someone. Hand them a dollar, put a note on a co-worker’s desk, buy someone a coffee, carry groceries, etc. Expect Nothing In Return.
- N: NUTRITION: Kale. Arugula. Spinach. Every day this week, eat at least one of these. Yes, You Can Do It!
- C: CREATIVITY: Doodle, draw, and color every day this week. Even if it is on a gum wrapper. No skill is required.
- E: EXERCISE: any combination of 5000+ steps/day. One mile=2000 steps.
If you like the word Harmony, here is an example for you:
- H: HAIR: get a cut, color, or an up-do for yourself or someone else. Those rinse-out crazy colors are fun as well.
- A: APPLE: eat an apple every day.
- R: READ: pick a book (or a few articles) to read this week that is waaaay outside your usual genre.
- M: MONEY: find a bowl or jar and begin using marbles, rocks, or paperclips (you decide), and each time you say something positive, you get to toss it in the jar. After one week, convert your objects to money and treat yourself.
- O: OUTSIDE: get outside every single day – multiple times if you can.
- N: NEW: try a new exercise or food you have never tried—Yahoo rutabaga.
- Y: YELLOW: take a picture each day of something you see that is yellow.
Now you kids, get on out there and let me know how you “harmonize” this week.
Peggy Willms
All Things Wellness, LLC
peggy@allthingswellness.com
The information provided is the opinion of the author. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. diagnosis, or treatment. The author and the business, All Things Wellness, LLC, and its owner Peggy Willms, are not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information in this article or on this website. We assume no responsibility for tangible and intangible damages such physical harm caused by using a product, loss of profits or loss of data, and defamatory comments. This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.
