Keeping Balance
Maintaining a balanced life is becoming increasingly more important for our personal health and well-being in a fast-paced, modern world. We live in a world full of different beliefs and opinions, so one person’s answer to one question could be completely different to the other person. The Internet, particularly social media, advertises all sorts of information on exercise and nutrition. If we can find a sport or training programs we enjoy, we need to stick to it. Consistency helps us lead to the most positive impact on our life balance. Everyone’s bodies and minds respond in different ways; the most important thing is that we are getting the right balance. In other words, it’s crucial that we find the balance that we enjoy. Being healthy doesn’t happen overnight, but each little change we make is a step in the right direction. We should keep it simple, and be kind to ourselves.
Everyone responds to exercise and diet differently, however, there are a number of steps we can take that are sure to help us keep a great balanced lifestyle.
• Take care and look after ourselves: In order to achieve a balanced lifestyle, we must make sure we are healthy. Our body needs plenty of rest, exercise and healthy food. It’s important to take some time out from a busy day to enjoy activities and unwind by reading or meditating.
• Be organized: It’s important to keep a clear plan in advance, allowing time for our tasks and making room for activities we enjoy. Being organized can help reduce stress and improve our life balance.
• Set goals: Achieving goals can help us assist with gaining a positive mindset. Our goals can cover anything from our jobs, our finances or our fitness goals.
• Eat right: Our body needs healthy foods and nutrients to create new cells, clean toxins and function properly. Ensuring we eat right can help improve our diet and life balance.
• Improve our mood: It’s not just exercise that can lead to improvement of our mood. Healthy habits, such as social connections, can, too, keep the mind active.
No one is born with the ability to ride a skateboard, surf or even stand on their tiptoes. Unlike other mammals, human beings have no balance at birth, and no capacity to walk or even stand. As we get older, we may notice that some people are really good at keeping their balance. They can dance well, jump ropes and do somersaults. But they were not born with this ability. Instead, it takes time and practice. Balance is a skill. The more we practice, the better we become. As we know, babies are born nearsighted, and able to see only about 10 to 12 inches away. No wonder, for many people, walking in the dark means risking a fall because the brain is receiving so little visual information about the environment. Besides, when babies try to stand, their brains would process the signals to their feet, legs and hands in order to help them balance. But, yet, there are still some gestures for babies to lose their balance. Therefore, we all need to learn the skills and practice more to keep balance. As people get older, their balance often decline due to age-related changes to their muscle and vision, as well as other causes. This increases their risk of falling. In fact, falls are a leading cause of physical injuries for adults of over 65 years old. Nowadays, people not only should work on balance and flexibility, but also have to maintain and protect their mental health. More and more, we are hearing high-profile (知名度高的) people talk about the mind-body connection, or how mental health issues affect their physical health.
     We do have to maintain the balance between our mental and physical health. Actually, our minds and bodies are interconnected. There are some kinds of things that we might throw our mental and physical health connection off-balance. For example, people living in a stressful environment have a higher likelihood of developing cardiac issues, like heart attacks. Others who have respiratory (呼吸系統) issues tend to have more anxiety and pressure. Chronic illness, injuries, financial stress, and bad relationships all let us reach the scales of the off-balance zone. Here are some of the warning signs that our mental-physical connection can be unbalanced:
1.    Forgetting birthdays, anniversaries or important appointments
2.    Not being able to finish tasks
3.    Becoming easily distracted
4.    Not finding enjoyment in things we usually like
5.    Difficulty eating
Getting stuck in negative thoughts over stressful situations also impacts our physical health. We may recognize these symptoms, like headaches, when mental burdens begin to feel like physical weights. Being able to set negativity aside and to keep moving forward is an important skill for a person’s both mental and physical health. There are a few things that we can still take away any imbalance. These include:
1.    Get moving for, at least, half an hour a day, five days a week. This could be walking, biking, swimming or any physical activity.
2.    If we want to drink alcohol, we keep the consumption moderate.
3.    Eat foods that are good for us, and avoid food with too much caffeine.
4.    Practice some kinds of mindfulness for 10 minutes each day.
Furthermore, good relationships are important for our mental wellbeing. They can:
1.    Help us build a sense of belonging and self-worth.
2.    Give us an opportunity to share positive experiences.
3.    Provide emotional support and allow us to support others.
Except for that, research shows that learning new skills improve our mental wellbeing, too. When we learn new things, we start to connect with others, and perform acts of giving and kindness. We then create positive feelings and a sense of reward. We might want to volunteer in our local community, such as helping at a school, hospital or care home, and express gratitude to our friends or someone they have done for us. We, thus, are willing to spend time with friends or relatives who need support or company. Then, we learn to pay more attention to the present moment, including our thoughts and feelings, our bodies and the world around us.  We practice mindfulness more, and are, much easier, able to positively change the way we feel about life and face the challenges before us.