Importance of finding balance
Balance, that's a word that inspires me! Balance is so easy to lose and it's a state I constantly seek!
Balance, when it is a synonym of equilibrium or stability, means "an even distribution of weight enabling someone, or something, to remain upright and steady."
Remain upright and steady in life, that's one worthy goal!
I learned when I was a skydiver that the center of my gravity was my belly button and that if I wanted to fall without being tossed in all directions (and therefore "remain steady" in my free fall), I just had to arch my back to stick out my belly button.
In a similar manner, to find balance in life, one needs to find where their spiritual center of gravity is. Mine is my faith in Jesus Christ. His gospel is the map to get me closer to Him. When I follow the map, I find emotional balance and harmony.
I am balanced when priorities come first, when my life is not crazy running here and there, when my husband and I find a way to have quality time with each other on a regular basis, and family time with our children and grandson. It's when I take the time to ponder, read, bike, or quilt! It's when I help others, when I "let go and let God", or when I feel the Holy Spirit guiding me. It's when no important area of my life dominates the others.
It's also when I am patient and kind, when I accept the good and the bad that is happening to me, or any other dualities of life (the Chinese concept of the yin and the yang). It's when I see the good in the trials I face. It's when I am mindful and regulate my emotions, it's when I act in a calm manner, when I am reasonable, or find the middle between too much and not enough. It's when I do my best and put my trust in God and feel that things will work out (no matter how bad the situation looks like). It's when I am near the ocean. It's when I am temperate.
In the scriptures, we are often invited to be "temperate in all things" (DC 12:8) or to add temperance to our knowledge (2 Peter 1:6).
Being temperate in all things means we manage our thoughts, emotions, words, and actions. We are temperate when we control our anger, our appetites, our desires, and impulses, for example. We are temperate when we are flexible, when we avoid extremes, and when we walk the middle path. In many instances, life is not all black-or-white. It's not either-or. It's not win-or-lose. Life is much more complex than that dualistic view. We are temperate when we don't react, when we recognize we are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired (H.A.L.T), and when we are self-aware.
Being temperate is finding "The middle way. The golden mean. The doctrine of the mean. The goldilocks principle" (Niemiec, 2019).
Dr. Seligman et al. (2004) included self-regulation, prudence, humility, and forgiveness as the components of temperance (Positive Psychology), and defined it as one of the 6 core virtues.
Temperance is a journey toward growth and development, and as a life coach, this is something I could help you develop.
References
Seligman, M. E. P., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2004). The Values in Action (VIA) classification of character strengths. Ricerche di Psicologia, 27(1), 63-78.
Niemiec, R. M. (2023). Finding the golden mean: the overuse, underuse, and optimal use of character strengths. In A second-wave positive psychology in counselling psychology (pp. 183-201). Routledge.