It all begins with unlocking your 5 Aspects of Self.

So often when we think about balance we imagine what life would be like if our work and our home life were totally equal in terms of both the time and the energy spent. Or if we wear many hats (ie. actor – writer – entrepreneur), we’d love for the when and how long we wear those hats to be super neat and predictable. 

But the reality is that the more you live your life (and the more hats you wear), the less likely that is to be the case. 

In a previous blog post, I suggested a new paradigm for balance … one where rather than trying to make the sides of the scale balance, that instead we look at balance as a system. In this system, as one of your roles requires more attention, you alleviate the pressure by allowing one of your other roles to take up a little less space. The end result of allowing ourselves to find energetic balance is that the total weight of all your responsibilities actually remains the same, rather than just getting heavier and heavier.

Today, I’d like to take that definition of balance one step further. 

What if finding balance wasn’t about what you do but how you do it?

In this scenario, you are tending to your internal state and making sure you are tending to and honoring all the aspects of your self.

In my work, I have identified and actively work with clients to balance these 5 Aspects of Self.

1. Physical
2. Mental
3. Emotional
4. Energetic
5. Spiritual

There are definitely overlaps between each of these Aspects and when one area is in deficit the others definitely tend to adjust or overwork to fill in the gaps.

Similarly, if you are placing too much emphasis on any one of these Aspects, others may diminish in their power and effectiveness.

So what exactly is each Aspect and how does it show up in your life and work?

Physical is everything experiential about your body including movement and sensory input, your body’s systems: skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive, and its autonomic functions like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, salivating, and peristalsis. 

To illuminate your relationship to your Physicality, here are a couple questions you can answer:

1. How aware are you of your physical lived experience? 
2. Do you connect to and feel your body or do you tend to separate from physical sensation?

Mental encompasses all conscious thought, the processing of information, and decision making. I would also include unconscious and automatic thoughts including self-criticism, doubt, and worry.

If your thoughts are constantly racing or trying to exert control over your life, or make things happen, your Mental aspect is overactive.

On the other side of things, if your thoughts have been feeling sluggish or you are experiencing brain fog, you are experiencing an underactive Mental aspect.

What is your relationship to your thoughts on a day to day basis?

Do you regularly find yourself locked into a state of negative thoughts?

Emotional includes anything related to your emotions. 

Which emotions come easily for you as compared to which emotions do you tend to judge or cut off when they arise? 

Are you holding onto emotions, revving them up, or releasing them? 

Are you aware of your emotional triggers and how you tend to behave or what you tend to think when certain emotions arise?

Energetic is the aspect that specifically deals with the body’s energy field which regulates health and healing. Energy flows through and around the body through its aura, chakras, and meridians. Our actions and thoughts can impact our energy as well through the boundaries that we set and how much and when we allow ourselves to be influenced by others.

Do you feel heavy or weighted down and can’t seem to figure out why? Do you feel tired even though you are getting plenty of rest?

In both cases, your Energetic Aspect is most likely out of alignment.

Finally, Spiritual is about your connection to the energy outside of our bodies which connects us to all people and things. The spiritual aspect helps us to deepen our trust that we are loved and supported by the universe.

If you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders and you have to do everything yourself, you probably have an underdeveloped Spiritual Aspect.

On the other hand, if you are in trust all the time and focused on manifesting to the extent you are no longer taking action in your life, you are likely leaning too heavily on your Spirituality.

The New Paradigm for Balance and Expansion

By addressing the balance of your 5 Aspects of Self, you are helping yourself create a sense of internal peace within your body. From that state of peace, it is much easy to allow for the ebbs and flows of life and let go of the expectation that you can or should keep all of the balls in the air at the same time. And that ease, actually allows us to be more open and receive more when it is ready to come our way.

Time for Reflection

What came up for you while reading about this new paradigm for balance? Which aspects do you think are over or under developed? Which feel balanced?

How does this knowledge change the way you plan to show up in your day-to-day life?

I’d love for you to share any insights you have in the comments below.

Much love,
Natalie

PS: Would you like some help assessing how the 5 Aspects of Self are showing up in your life? Book your FREE 1-on-1 Joyful Action Strategy Consultation today.