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From needs to joy—finding your way to a balanced life.Balanced living is about finding ways to have people, art, healthy practices, music, travel, and many other good things in your life. It doesn’t mean that you do all of these things every day, but that you find a balance. You recognize balance and place things in importance. Finding time to follow your dreams is one of the benefits of a balanced life.
How do you balance the conflict of following your dreams with the reality of earning a living? Like many other artists and creative people, I feel a strong desire to follow my passions regardless of the consequences. Unfortunately, the myth of the “starving artist” can be all too real. When I first thought about following my dreams, I said, “But I still have to pay rent and bills.” For years this was an excuse to keep me from moving forward. It was a roadblock that prevented me from change and from allowing myself to move on to a better place. And yet, in many ways, I was right. We all have certain needs that must be met. And then we return to joy. What I was feeling was the conflict between following passion and earning a living. How can I determine which is more important in a balanced life? |
Affluence, unboundedness, and abundance are our natural state. We just need to restore the memory of what we already know. —Deepak Chopra |
Basic Human NeedsAll humans have basic needs that must be taken care of. These have to be taken into consideration for both psychological and spiritual growth. You cannot ignore these needs and do only fun activities. That is not balance. And that is not the route to joy. All parts of your emotional self should be part of the balance equation. Psychologists such as Abraham Maslow have organized frameworks for looking at needs and balance.
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Read on about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs -->
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Chapter 2 Introduction
