I present you with this simple formula to help you cope and wade through the ‘so-called’ stressful times and see life as a ray of HOPE - truly a great gift from God.
Hobbies:
If one jogs back in time, they would soon see how this part of their simple world has changed from numismatics (collection/study of coins) or philately (collection/study of stamps) to creating spectacular terrariums or learning international genres of dancing. No matter how simple or complex a hobby might seem, it is so important for each individual to have at least one. This keeps the mind afresh and open to creativity. Hobbies act as great revitalising agents especially in a stressful world cluttered with materialism.
Official:
This quadrant of your lifestyle covers all your areas of work whether you are an entrepreneur or an employee. All that you do for a financial living is addressed here. Oftentimes the skills (you need to survive), the bills (you need to pay), or thrills (achievements that you celebrate) bring upon a lot of stress in your life. There could be uncertainty pertaining to the boss (how will you be accepted), loss (whether your job will continue to exist) or toss (whether there would be a company acquisition or closure). These challenges at work may cause inevitable stress. Hence, preparation to overcome the same and keeping this quadrant of your life in proper balance is of prime importance.
Personal:
While searching for greener pastures outside, we forget to focus on ourselves. I do not want to promote selfishness here but the truth of life is that if you want to serve others, you must be in a fit state yourself. We witness this every time we travel by air - we see an air hostess instruct a young mother (with her infant on her lap), that in case of an emergency she needs to put on her oxygen mask first and then that of her child. Focus on yourself once in a while and enjoy the fruit of whatever you are doing. Take some time off, invest in your health or just pamper yourself to a session at the spa. This will definitely motivate you with fresh thoughts.
Energy:
This is the most important part of your lifestyle because life is about change where you will have some events or the other taking place at work or in your life which could cause immense stress, boredom or a feeling of rejection.
One needs to focus and channelise their attention on something that can help them not only be distracted but also be energized to take on that imminent stress in other areas of their life. This is what I call the “Energy box”, which fuels other quadrants by not just keeping the fires burning but instead promoting optimism and positivity. Irrespective of the other three boxes being slightly empty, this box needs to be full at all times with something interesting. It could relate to either of the other three boxes. Great examples to focus on, could be:
1. Important personal projects like - Wedding preparation in the family Start investing wisely Traveling to your dream destination Adding spirituality to your life
2. Official tasks - Learning a new skill related to work Networking with senior leadership
3. Enhancing an existing hobby - Perfecting the art of playing a musical instrument Learning a foreign language Starting that dream hobby
All of us are given ample opportunities to excel. The question is how well do we see, grasp and use such opportunities. It would be great if we could add zeal and enthusiasm to our life by not only focusing on our hobbies, office and personal life but also ensuring that our life is filled with energy.
If you succeed at this then, YOU would most certainly be complete by adding a ray of HOPE to your life !!!
Credits: My wife Reann for the wonderful acronym - HOPE
