I'm always preaching about balance. Balance is the foundation component in the Power Triangle. You apply power through balance, focus and timing.

In the ring or on the dojo floor, balance is relatively easy to understand. It simply means you're keeping your face off the floor most of the time! If we go a little deeper we can talk about having a sense of grounding or "rooting." That's a connection to the ground which provides the solid platform we need to express power effectively.

Develop good control of balance and rooting and your punches and kicks are most powerful and effective. When you're out of balance you can punch with a lot of energy, but most of that energy is likely to be wasted; it doesn't translate into a clean, powerful strike.

Real life works the same way. You're constantly trying to balance the components of a successful and happy life. Material, emotional and spiritual resources need to be maintained in relative balance and in relative harmony with your needs and desires.

Ignore one or more of these key areas of life and you're heading for trouble. Imbalance causes stress, frustration and even illness. There are, however, times when one area or the other may require more of your attention. That's when people really get into trouble! Scarcity in material, emotional or spiritual areas is usually the cause of this imbalance, although you can also become out of balance through excessive abundance. That's what happens when you become obsessive. There's a fine line between focused and obsessive and you've got to keep an eye on it!

Maintaining balance is simple, it's not always easy. Keep it simple! Keep the 3 Key Areas of Life in mind: Material, Emotional and Spiritual and take some time daily or weekly to do a quick inventory of your resources in each area.

 

A Gratitude Practice is a terrific way to take inventory. If you see that one area or another is out of whack, make small adjustments before it becomes a huge problem. Gratitude gives you perspective on the relative balance between what you have and what you need or want.

 
In the past few weeks there have been several cases of suicide and murder committed by people who allowed their lives to get completely out of balance, at least two were high level executives who had plenty of material wealth, but were obviously lacking in spiritual and emotional resources.

 

It takes Discipline to keep up a Gratitude Practice; some people will just think its stupid and won't bother. I can tell you from personal experience that gratitude has saved my life more than once, and continues to make my life better every day.