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Balance ~ Simplify ~ Emotional Baggage by Tim Connor Balance - One of the issues facing many people today who are trying to live with wisdom is the ability to maintain a sense of balance in their lives. it is impossible to have total balance in your life at all times. There are too many demands, issues, problems, needs, goals, and people to deal with. it is possible, however, to have enough balance to reduce the stress in your life while enjoying many of the gifts God has given you. There are several areas where we need to balance our lives: family, work, financial, friends, social, spiritual, self-development, physical, personal interests, business or career interests, and fun. At any given time, you can be way out of balance. For example: if you have just started a new business or career, you just had your first child, or are in a new relationship, you will most likely devote more time and energy to these activities, while ignoring some of the others. it will become a problem if we stay way out of balance in one area for a long period of time. For example, working seven days a week for 25 years at the expense of your health, friends, and family. The key to living wisely is to stay focused on what matters for the long-term, not the short-term. Simplify - Everywhere you look, life is getting more and more complicated. On the surface, technology may appear to simplify your life, but there are always trade-offs. Here are a few factors that seem to be moving our lives faster and making them more complicated: more traffic, in- creased consumer choices, time demands of all kinds, the clock and calendar that seem to be moving faster, unlimited infor- mation on thousands of subjects on millions of websites. i could go on, but i am sure you are well aware of the areas of your life that seem to push you into more and faster. We have been led to believe more makes it better, and faster makes it easier. i don't think so. Only when you become aware of which areas in life you are guilty of complicating, can you change it. Emotional Baggage - Was it some- thing your parents did or said 30 years ago? Something a customer said last week? Something a spouse or friend said or did yesterday? Old baggage is emotional stuff we carry around with us for days, months, or years. it is usually negative - like old hurts, resentments, anger, or some kind of pain inflicted by another person. it can also be carrying around some old guilt, failure, or fear which impacts our current relationships and life in general. Why do people hold onto all these old feelings and memories? Old baggage starts to feel very comfortable after a while - so comfort- able, many people die never able to let go of these hurts, slights, and pains. There is one very good reason to let go of all this baggage. One of the major contributors of stress today is suppressed emotions fes- tering in the body, taking their eventual toll on some aspect of our physiology. let me repeat - one of the biggest causes of stress today is all of this old baggage. So why let it go? it may kill you if you don't. in His service, Tim michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com 15 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MARCH 2020