To move forward from the last one sent to you, the Jeffrey Brantley & Wendy Millstine book used indicates regarding PERSONAL BALANCING ACT the following:
No matter what your profession, your personal life can sometimes distract you from the work at hand. Perhaps you’re worried about your child or an ill family member or a recent divorce. No one is immune to these concerns, and yet in the fast-paced business world, few of us can afford to drop our jobs and adequately tend to our daily personal worries. But there’s no reason why we can’t both acknowledge our personal life and be present for our work duties.
Try this private ritual for maintaining a healthy balance between both your worlds.
1. First, acknowledge what’s going in your life outside of work.
2. Take this moment to give yourself the comfort and tenderness that you need. Say aloud, “I am worried about ______________. In this moment, I feel _________________. There will be time eventually to get through this.”
3. Take an easy breath. Remind yourself throughout your workday to move gently, to not push yourself too hard, and that there will be time to attend to your personal concerns.
That’s seems fine in itself for part of the moment that you are in, but Dr. Hubert Rampersad takes it a step further, which seems to be a more proactive approach called “Personal Branding”, which is managing the perceptions effectively and controlling and influencing how others perceive you, which is part of a journey towards a happier and more successful life. That is, after all, what we are seeking, isn’t it (through balancing all of our lives – work and home and hobbies and personal – into one that means something more to us than just working, going home to enjoy our family for a few hours, sleeping and starting the entire day again, right?)? Dr. Rampersad goes on to further explain that LOVE is an important element in this balancing equation – the loving yourself (self love), loving others, and loving what you can do in equal proportions. The Personal Branding Model could be a whole inservice in itself (hey, Martha!); however, in short the Model is explained in some basic steps:
1. Define and formulate your Personal Ambition.
2. Define and formulate your Personal Brand (through Vision, Mission, Key Roles, Personal Statement).
3. Formulate your Personal Balance Scorecard (a means to measure your progress).
4. Implement and cultivate your Personal Ambition, Brand and Balanced Scorecard.
While the Brantley & Millstine book seems helpful for the moment, Dr. Rampersad seems to be similar to what Martha was talking about in a prior inservice about having a Plan B in our lives and the chart we received last month in Wellness about the STAGES OF CHANGE MODEL; it is just another way to approach the process. If you would like a copy of that article, I’d be happy to give it to you.
A quote to give fuel for thought about personal balancing acts:
“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you believe. …Hold the highest vision possible for your life and it can come true …. Go for your highest and greatest vision for your life and align your purpose with the flow of your life. …Follow your passion…Sooner or later, your passion is going to win out and nobody can stop you.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
