Stop Pissing in the Pool

STOP PISSING IN THE POOL

Not everyone is striving for balance in life. However, that’s definitely the goal for me. Don’t get me wrong, I want to learn, experience, and grow, as much as possible. But I want that growth to happen across the board in every area of my life. I don’t want to be some spiritual guru, experiencing pure enlightenment, with the expense of terrible relationships and a miserable family. When I speak of balance, I am referring to the healthy development and integration in all areas of life. I am talking about taking responsibility for my actions so that I can be successful and fulfilled. Balance means helping myself, so that I can reach out and help others.

THE 6 AREAS OF LIFE

There are 6 areas of life. Each one of them is an essential component. As we age, it is our responsibility to learn and apply each area, in order to have a healthy and functional life.

Spiritual: God/Love & A Spiritual Practice
Mental & Emotional: Thinking & Feeling
Vocational: Purpose & Contribution
Financial: Earning & Managing Money
Health: Nutrition, Movement & Sleep
Relationships: Intimacy, Family & Friends

The progressive improvement and consistent work on all 6 areas of life will lead to more happiness and fulfillment. When you begin to see the inter-connection within these domains, knowing that they all affect each other, you will awaken to deeper and more expansive levels of development.

THE POOL OF YOUR LIFE

Each area of life supports and impacts every other area of life. When you elevate one area of life, you create the potential to elevate the others. Oppositely, you cannot do wrong in one area without eventually impacting and bringing down the others. The metaphor here, is that, if you piss in one area of the pool it will eventual get into the other areas of the pool. The goal is to take care of, and beautify, the whole pool. Don’t piss in the pool of your life, because it will drift into the other areas.

A common mistake that most people fall prey to is overly focusing on one area while neglecting another. For example, if you put all of your time and energy into the financial area of life, focusing only on making money, and you neglect your health, you will soon experience the negative consequences. It’s just a matter of time until your body, along with your energy and vitality, will suffer. Losing yourself in one area of life (trying to dominate it) can seem desirable, until it starts destroying something else you love. The goal is to find your balance.

Now of course, you can only take on so much. So you need to find out what your authentic needs are in each area of life, and meet those, accordingly. Meeting your authentic needs, in all 6 areas, creates a strong foundation. Only after your needs are taken care of can you place your focus on a select few things (or one thing) that you want to master. Mastery will always be short lived without a foundation to work from.

AUTHENTIC NEEDS

Human beings are all needy individuals. As children, we are born in an ultimate state of neediness. We need food and water, shelter and protection, nourishment and love, and everything else. As we grow and develop, we begin to fulfill more and more of those needs in ourselves, and thus become more independent and mature. The mark of a healthy adult is someone who can get their needs met, in all areas of life, in a functional way. However, if we are not getting our needs met, we will do something, consciously or unconsciously, to fulfill that need. This behavior can easily lead to dysfunction and self-sabotage.

Self-sabotage is a dysfunctional way of getting our needs met. We often turn to substances (alcohol, drugs, sex, obsessive behaviors, etc.) in an attempt to get our authentic needs met. We know this won’t fulfill us, but self-sabotage isn’t logical, it’s emotional. In most cases, self-sabotage stems from childhood programming around not learning how to get our authentic needs met in a healthy way.

IMPACTING OTHER PEOPLE

The way we treat ourselves is a reflection of how we treat others. If we keep pissing in our own metaphorical pool, through poor choices, then no one will want to hang out with us. Furthermore, our actions in life can be negatively impacting those around us. This brings up the question: Are we hurting other people, especially those we love, because we aren’t taking responsibility for our actions?

The more we care for ourselves, and our own pool of life, the more we can share with others and the world. Because the more we love ourselves, the more we love others. Maybe it’s time to grow up, and stop pissing in the pool.

Hope you enjoyed this post. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!