What are ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ imbalances?
Are you sitting with nice Excel sheets or lists and planning what to do? Or are you just going through the motions and have no paperwork at all? The vast majority of us are both, but in slightly different balances. What I would like you to think about is how it feels on the inside when you sit and plan and plan, without being able to “do”. And what happens when you just do it without a plan? In this case, ‘up’ stands for the brain and ‘down’ for the body. Or ‘up’ for planning and ‘down’ for doing.
Planning> implement
In companies, it’s easy to get caught up in the actual planning, with lots of theory about what’s going to happen next. But today, everything moves so fast, which means that it is virtually impossible to predict the entire journey and final destination. Instead, the focus can be on setting a goal with a clear framework for what you will do. However, you have to take into account that you may need to adjust the route during the journey to the destination, in order to respond to changes that occur and that you may not be aware of today. If there is clarity of intentions, objectives and framework, it is also easier to be flexible when the way forward needs to be adjusted.
So start the journey with smaller details but with a clear overall vision for it (the shell is ready and the content can come along the way). Simply plan and implement!
Short term vs long term goals
Environmental and sustainability issues are highly topical right now and how our future generations will benefit. And this is also the case when we set goals for ourselves or our company. We need to look at both short-term and long-term goals. Some short-term goals can be part of the longer-term ones. I think in order to create sustainability in us as individuals or a company, there needs to be a more long-term thought in the background. What should all the short-term goals lead to? Otherwise, we can easily lose the common thread and start running on balls that don’t take us in the direction we really want. What is the idea for the future of the company? Visions can change, that’s true, but we don’t know that today, so we need to start from the information we have available right now.
For individuals, are you saving for retirement? Or does it feel far away and a bit boring? Simply put, we don’t know if we will be alive when we retire. Assuming I do, I think it would be more fun to live the life of a happy retiree, rather than having to spend every penny and not being able to live my “free” life as I wish. So what I choose not to do now because it feels “boring”, how will it affect me in the future? Then I know very well that there are people who work and still only make ends meet on the dollar, and may not be able to save for retirement. Nevertheless, I get the feeling that it is sometimes those who are in a tight financial situation who put their pension money aside, rather than those who don’t have to think about it and have a more “it will be fine” mindset. So start saving and don’t think “I’ll do that later”.
Give your brain a rest and move around a bit
Exercise is a way to actually give the brain office a rest for a while and let your body take over and get moving. Whether it’s a walk, dance class, football, yoga, Crossfit, horse riding or whatever you choose. Then we know something about (research) that fitness training strengthens the brain, the frontal lobes, which makes us make better decisions. Yoga makes us more present and connects to our parasympathetic nervous system (calmness system), which stimulates digestion, hormone secretion, etc. So there is nothing wrong with having a mix of different forms of exercise in your daily life. And above all, do what you love! Find what is meaningful and gives you joy and energy to keep going. Once you’ve found it, you may be able to start planning for more exercise in your life, or planning for exercise goals.
Think about it!
- Do you think first and act later?
- Do you do first and think later?
And it looks different depending on the situation you are in.
“Find your balance”
/Rebecca
