Summer Camp Tells Kids How To Keep Balance In Their Lives
Learning specialist Bobbi DePorter, has lived the 8 Keys
for more than 25 years. They are principles of behavior
that inspire people to try great things—and succeed.
These Keys have the power to constantly propel you forward
and to help bring purpose, meaning and fulfillment to your
life and your work.
The first key is balance - living a fulfilled life by
aligning your mind, body and spirit. You create balance in
your life by apportioning your time according to your
highest priorities.
What are the things that are most important to you? Family,
friends, health, a talent you have, a cause you care about?
Spending time on the things that are important to you
brings a sense of balance. Staying in balance is an ongoing
process that is affected by the choices you make every day.
It brings a feeling of quiet peace you might not even
notice.
Balance is a subtle, quiet Key
Balance is subtle. You may not always recognize it when
it's there, but you'll feel its absence. Imbalance clanks
loudly, like an out-of-tune piano. When you're out of
balance, you know it.
Keeping your balance is about bringing your life into
alignment, recognizing when some part of your life doesn't
reflect your priorities, and rearranging your life in a way
that creates an ongoing sense of peace and fulfillment.
When you're able to make time for what matters in your
life, your life will be in balance, you will feel
fulfilled, and you won't be plagued with a nagging
sensation that some aspect of life is passing you by.
When she was in the process of developing the 8 Keys, Bobbi
first tried to bring balance to her life by devoting equal
time and energy to all the important aspects of her life.
She made a pie chart and devoted equal slices to work,
home, family, friends, charitable organizations, and so
forth, and then set about trying to apportion her time to
match the chart.
No matter how hard she tried to do strike a balance in her
life that way, no matter how close she got to that goal,
something still felt out of whack. Eventually, she came to
realize that it wasn't a matter of rigidly devoting equal
time to everything that mattered to her, but of
prioritizing and then finding the allotment of time and
energy that created the greatest sense of fulfillment.
That's balance.
How to know when you're out of balance
You may not recognize that you're out of balance unless you
take the time to step back and look at your life from a
different perspective. And remember that the times we're
most in need of a new perspective are often the times when
it's most difficult to take that break.
1. Take a time-out—especially when you think you can
least afford it Sometimes when you're going too fast in one
or more areas of your life, you just have to call a
time-out, just like a basketball coach whose team seems out
of sync. Take your time out to do something fun and
relaxing and make sure it's a long enough break that it
gives you a chance to evaluate how you're spending your
time and if aspects of your life might be out of balance.
Balance has little to do with the amount of time you spend
in any area of your life. When you're focused and excited
about something, you can spend mega hours at it and feel
fulfilled and balanced. So, don't worry about whether
you're spending too much time at something. The secret to
balance lies not in an allotment of time but in an
awareness of your priorities.
2. Check your priorities daily When you're driving a car,
you're making constant small corrections. You're steering,
adjusting the gas, and braking almost automatically, but
you are paying attention and constantly making corrections
to accommodate changing situations along your route.
Keeping your life in balance requires the same kind of
ongoing correction process. Balance is about choices. When
you're keeping yourself in balance you're making a thousand
internal corrections each day. You're constantly asking
yourself, What do I value? What's really important? Does
this activity really need to be done now?
No matter how good you become at it, you won't be in
balance every moment of every day. Tune in to the signals
your mind, spirit, and body send that warn you when you're
slipping out of balance. Compensate sooner rather than
later. The quicker you realign yourself, the smaller the
"wobble" you'll have to correct.
The balance that comes from fulfillment acts as a lens. It
clears the view to your dream. Balance and the big picture
are self-reinforcing energies. Stay balanced, and you'll be
able to keep the big picture in sight—stay focused on
the big picture, and you'll see clearly the choices that
will keep your balance. Fulfillment creates
balance—and balance creates fulfillment. Make choices
that are consistent with what makes you feel fulfilled. Use
this Balance affirmation often: I give to the things that
are important to me the amount of time that creates the
greatest sense of fulfillment.
"The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness. It's the
things you do half-heartedly that really wear you out."
—David Whyte
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At SuperCamp, the learning and life skills summer camps for
students in grades 4 through 12, kids learn about the 8
Keys of Excellence. Parents, go to http://www.SuperCamp.com
now to learn about enrolling your son or daughter while
space remains. Age-specific programs are available for
students in grades 4-12 and incoming college freshmen. At
the website, you also can get a free eBook that gives you
an inside look at what works with teens.
