Creating Balance as Turbo Thinkers©
Balance can be defined as, “a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions.” Many Turbo Thinkers already struggle with emotional regulation and executive function skills, and the chaos of today’s world exacerbates these challenges. “I need more balance,” they tell me. It’s all or nothing, though most of the time it’s nothing. It’s avoiding “the wall of awful”. However, does it have to be such black and white thinking? Are there not more than two elements necessary to create balance? Wouldn’t it be more like a spinning top than a see-saw? Moreover, what is the feeling we want? Isn’t that more important than what we need to do? I often hear, “I need a healthy lifestyle!” Well, who said that and what does that even mean? “I should workout every morning, meditate for an hour, eat kale, fast intermittently, drink a gallon of water, journal for an hour before bed, etc. etc.”
But what do we really want? If you crave kale, go ahead and indulge. But what do you want to feel as a result of that? And is that your idea? Or did Google tell you to do that? Or did your favorite celebrity just post a selfie at the farmer’s market holding a bunch of kale and a wicker bicycle basket with a colorful bouquet of fresh flowers and an adorable puppy too?
How effective is this “should” strategy when Turbo Thinkers are rebels at heart? If an idea is not our own, the brain will resist. If we want to change something, we succeed when we choose it. It comes from within so there is no outside force to fight. If the feeling we want, for example, is peace or satisfaction or hope, how could we create that? How can we make time for that? Once we identify the elements necessary for our brain and heart to achieve that feeling, we can take the steps to create the balance in our life. No one can define this but us.
In the end “balance” simply might mean that like a bright and shiny spinning top, we need the elements we love to create joy in equilibrium. We first clear the surface for smooth spinning, we infuse a bit of momentum, and we sit back to enjoy what comes with awe and delight. The process is one of ease, playfulness and wonder. Eventually, the spinning top will wobble and fall. Will we choose to get sad or angry at it? Or will we simply pick it up, check the surface and start again? The choice is ours.