Motivational Article

I've hurt my back and neck a couple of weeks ago.
It forced me to take a break, as I couldn't do anything else.
I realized my body is screaming at me that I should listen.
So I did...

As long as I can remember, I always wanted to be the best.
It didn't matter in what area. Just simply... THE BEST!

I remember as a child wanting to be the best football player of all time, and then the best brain surgeon, the best scientist, the best painter...

I don't ever recall my parents encouraging me in this passion for perfection, so I can't really pinpoint the source of the desire, only that I had it.

When I grew up I wanted to be Bill Gates in my business practices... so...

I founded my first software company at the age of 19.
Within a few years, the company grew and became a leading player in our market niche.

I had everything. Money, prestige, travel possibilities, a huge ego and... I felt old, lonely and undernourished.

My life was totally out of balance.

When I came to that realization, it didn't take too long for me to change.

At short notice, I left everything behind and traveled the world on a quest to find personal fulfillment. I traveled east and west and met some of the most extraordinary teachers on earth.
As a result, I left my country, and found myself jobless, rootless, and loaded with debt.

Again - totally out of balance.

It took me 6 years of slow, almost baby steps to create a new balance in my life.

I've invested time and effort in my relationship. I've raised a child, witnessing almost every moment of her life.
I've created new friends and made the effort to keep all my important relationships alive.

I started to work again, this time on a small-scale basis, accompanied by a small ego, and small income. But at last, I was doing what I loved, and that created the opportunity to learn about myself and my life on a daily basis.

I learned to achieve balance between my working hours and recreational hours. I found regular time every week for relaxation, such as sauna and massage. I get up late and go to sleep late, which fits my natural rhythm. I abandoned guilt, shame and blame, which released so much energy for better usage.

I live debt free, spending when money is available, and saving when it's tighter. I drive a small, middle-aged car, live in a beautiful rented house, have vacations in nature and bring all of this into my work.

I learned that there is no value in being a perfectionist, although I still like to have everything perfect and make reasonable efforts to create this state.
When I achieve this goal - I rest and acknowledge myself.
When it doesn't happen - I smile and rest and acknowledge myself for being lighter than I used to be.

The great thing I learned was to combine activities that in the past I thought dichotomy.

I learned a big lesson from Tony Robbins. In one of his books he describes how he works (on the phone) from his Jacuzzi at home.

Well, I don't have a Jacuzzi, YET! But writing these words I am sitting in my underwear, in the sun, in my own garden, enjoying the birds, the sweat pouring from my body and my daughter running around her small pool splashing water all over my work.

Another example. I come from a warm country. I love and need the sun. However, for the last few years I chose to live in northern Europe with its long gray cold autumn-winter-spring.
At one point I wished I could work a few weeks a year abroad on a warm sunny beach. It took me a few weeks to figure out an idea and since then I regularly lead a holistic retreat (the Flow) on the beaches of southern Europe. A perfect combination - a perfect balance.

I discovered that the imbalances in our lives come from our own mind - not from reality.

It's our mind that tells us that work is work and pleasure is pleasure, and that there is not enough hours a day for work, family, friends, and ourselves.

Did you have some doubts a few paragraphs ago, about the possibility of this balance in your life? Doubts that this lifestyle is simply not possible for you and your current situation does not permit such choices?

Aha! That's your mind again, resisting any new idea that might shake the status quo.

It's a trick of your mind to keep you out of balance.
Keeping you a prisoner of circumstances, with a legitimate and permanent victim status. Blaming others. Complaining that life is not fair.

Find today what is important for you. What really makes your life rich.
And find ways to include all these ingredients in your life.

Because it's true - life is not fair... it is just abundant.

The more you bring your life into balance the more of this abundance will be yours.

Enjoy it...

By the way, a few days off, some TLC (tender loving care) to myself and an intense, joyful pillow fight brought my back and neck back to life... how about that?