Stressing the Importance of Balance

First of all I should let you know that I believe everybody has a purpose on this earth. I just believe 99% of us never reach it. There are so many barriers in our lives today preventing us from reaching our potential. If you recall from the introduction of this book, I once worked with Kathy, a woman who was so distraught and disenfranchised, her entire life seemed to be falling apart. Once we helped her to remove the stress of her finances and find a balance in that area, she was free from it. She began to see herself clearly again. It was only then that she was able to work her way back to the person she was before the financial hardship started. In order to reach our potential, we need to get rid of the distractions in our lives so that we can see ourselves clearly. There are so many things blocking us from who we are. We need to see our naked selves again. What is the biggest distraction in our lives? The answer is simple, it is stress. The woman I had talked with on the phone that day was highly stressed and it was prohibiting her from being herself. She was trapped in it and could not get out. Wherever you are feeling stressed, i.e. finances, health, relationships, or your career, this is the area that is preventing you from being the best you. We work best when we have reached a balance in our lives. Stress is a major signal that we are imbalanced. So, how do you eliminate stress? You must find a balance. When you’re not balanced, stress will let you know. You may think you are balanced in your work life or your love life, but if it stresses you, then it needs to be readjusted. Once the stress is removed, you can be you again, or in some cases, you for the first time. Stress, or as it is sometimes called in science, fight or flight, is a psychological and physiological response necessary for survival. It actually protects us and gives us the necessary resources to survive in a threatening world. In the wild, a gazelle feels stressed when it senses that it is in danger. Let’s say that he senses a lion lurking in the distance. Automatically, stress allows the gazelle to have a heightened sense of alertness, hearing, smell, and energy. The body of the gazelle begins shutting down certain vital areas to help it survive immediately. All of the energy from its long term vital areas is then transferred to its short term vital areas to help it survive in the now. For example, the stress response shuts down the gazelle’s immune system because the body recognizes that there is no need to worry about protecting the animal from disease if it’s in immediate danger of death. Stress also shuts down the animal’s reproductive system, because there is no need to be concerned with procreation if the animal is about to be eaten. Finally, stress shuts down the fatigue factor and pumps the gazelle full of adrenaline to stay alert. After these vital places are shut down temporarily, then the animal’s body transfers all of this energy to the muscles, lungs, and senses so that it can have the tools to escape immediate danger. This form of survival is so taxing on the gazelle that it is only designed to last for a short period of time. Afterwards, if the gazelle escapes and is not eaten, it will be exhausted and need to rest in order to recuperate from the trauma that stress leaves the body in. This is the same thing that happens to you and me. Only we are not being attacked by a lion, we’re just wondering how we are going to pay bills, or deal with negative people in our lives, or try to find the right career or whatever else stresses us. So let’s break down what the stress response looks like in our lives. 1) It shuts down our immune system so we are more likely to be sick. 2) It shuts our sexual drive down so it is much harder to be intimate with our spouses or partner, or form close relationships with others. 3) It makes it difficult for you to rest and sleep. Since we are more advanced than the gazelle, we have longer term problems and this causes us to be stressed or in fight or flight for several weeks, months or even years. This type of stress over long periods of time can lead to strokes, heart attack, and death. Furthermore, it can become an insurmountable obstacle in living the quality of life many of us desire. It can make your life a living hell. I think it becomes easy to see how sickness, a lack of intimacy, and inability to reenergize, can cause barriers to reaching our potential.