By Mark Kaplan / February 9, 2020
In working for success, we can get caught up in satisfying our obligations and neglecting the physical and mental engine that is driving us. A popular term for this neglect is often work life balance. Correcting the balance we feel we are missing is often found in time and behavior management.
If work life balance is important, we can insert some activities in time blocks that create the balance we seek. We can also begin some new habits that give us feelings to balance worry and stress.
Dealing with Worry and Stress
Worry and stress are created by the hormones cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine. The happiness hormones and neurotransmitters we desire instead are dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins. Our stress hormones are stimulated by our thoughts and fears. Our happiness brain chemicals are stimulated by intentions, actions, and appreciation of our progress.
How do we get into the situations in which worry and stress are dominating our lives? We have responsibilities, obligations, and expectations. These both dominate our thinking, our planning, and our emotional balance. Each of these require time and there is not enough time in a day. Each of these might require years to fulfill. In the meantime, our days become like treadmills in which we keep running but don’t get a taste of the finish line.
Enjoying Positivity on a Daily Basis
Happiness, fitness, and mindfulness can be delivered on a daily basis. They make us feel fulfilled. They keep us in the present. They reduce stress. They can deliver peak learning and creativity periods. They can make us feel at the end of the day that it was a good day. We don’t have to wait for years to taste the benefits.
Happiness habits stimulate happiness brain chemicals mentioned above. The habits of learning, creativity, contribution, health, and fitness need time blocks to engage with focus. If we drop into flow during this engagement, we will not only have a peak performance, but a feeling of deep satisfaction in our activities often called bliss. These habits or behaviors can become addictive because they reward us for engaging.
Beginning Happiness Habits
We can begin our happiness habits with what is often called a keystone habit. A new self-improvement practice starts changing everything. Often starting a new eating regimen, exercise practice, mindfulness practice, or learning process, leads to changing more habits. Sometimes we can introduce them just five minutes at a time. We can sit in solitude for five minutes. We can begin learning with books, videos, or podcasts just a few minutes a day. We can go for a 10 minute walk. We can take extra time to prepare a healthy meal.
Good practices create optimism. They reflect discipline. They prove our will power. If practiced daily they are proof of our persistence. These are powerful skills that could be expanded and directed at any goal.
Getting Our Work Life Balance
Achieving work life balance might be as simple as including these practices into our daily schedule. Soon we have the feeling we are in control. We are getting periodic spurts of happiness chemicals stimulated by intentions, actions, and satisfaction with our progress. When we are proud of ourselves, we are flooded with serotonin, the good mood hormone.
Happiness, worry, and stress rarely occur at the same time. Working to build our knowledge or skills, setting aside time to be creative by finding solutions or working on dream projects, contributing our knowledge or time to improve the lives of others, and getting fit can all stimulate happiness brain chemicals.
Time Management
Time management can begin by tracking our activities and evaluating which are non-productive. We can start prioritizing the positive behaviors and reducing the time spent on less important activities. Greater progress in our careers and satisfaction in our personal lives will occur if we are engaged in positive behaviors.
Happiness, fitness, and mindfulness can deliver immediate results. They will begin to diminish our negative behaviors we often seek for relief. Cigarettes, alcohol, pills, drugs, over eating, shopping, gambling, and sedentary behavior are often reflections we are frustrated from not making progress. The right behaviors can break our addictions to the negative behaviors because they start to give us hope as we experience the progress.
Return to the Home Page
See Post How We Enjoy Intensity without Stress
See Post Life Style and Work Life Balance
See Post Creativity Can Be Career Changing
See Post Increasing the Flow in Your Life
See Post Fitness Nutrition and Weight Management
See Excerpts for my Book “The Good Life Plan”
