CORPORATE SUFI: Choosing balance to create your destiny

What you need to know:

  • Being balanced also means catering to your own needs as well as those of your family and the society you live in

You are the master of your destiny.  Your life, your freedom, your choices, are all in your hands.  You become the master when you believe in yourself.  Belief in self, gives you power over your fate, and only you can bestow that belief.  If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. Acting on that belief brings your dreams to your doorstep.  

Do you feel overworked and under-utilized?  Maybe it’s because you have not discovered your purpose or calling in life.  You have not found a cause larger than yourself to become involved in. 

 You have not understood the magic of Life Balance – the synergy of your body, mind, and soul.  Life Balance encapsulates purposeful living and the bounty of giving.

What does Life Balance mean?  Why do we need it?  And how can we find it?  Let’s look for some answers.

The meaning of life balance

Achieving a balanced life means setting priorities: understanding what is important and making time for it.  It means being in control of your choices rather than feeling controlled.  It means realizing that the shape and structure of your life is ultimately in your hands, and does not depend on circumstances.  It means knowing that you have a body, a mind and a soul, and thus that you have physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs.  It begins by recognizing the areas in your life that have been neglected and need attention.

Life Balance can be viewed in many ways.  It can be a balance between home and work.  It can be a state of balance in one’s physical, mental, emotional, financial, and spiritual health.

When you are in Life Balance, you are able to spend sufficient time, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in areas that you have defined as important to you. Life Balance is a state of feeling and being.  You know intuitively that you are doing the right things, and you’re able to navigate through the many opportunities and challenges.  You know what is important to you and you are able to choose appropriately.

Speaking on the topic, Richard Branson, Virgin Group founder, says, “Looking back over my 50 years as an entrepreneur one of the major keys to my success has been my ability to maintain a healthy balance between work and play.”

 Life Balance is not a static condition.  It is a dynamic and evolving blend of the body, mind, and spirit.

 To know what Life Balance means to you, it’s essential to know what areas of your life are the most important to you.

Your life is balanced when you are centered.  Being centered allows you to find equilibrium amid flux and change.

You are centered when you have a set of principles that are well grounded.

When you’re centered, you know what you want and why you want it.  This comes from clarity of purpose.  This clarity allows you to navigate through changes without compromising your core values and principles.  You become like an orchestra. 

It has diverse players and different instruments, yet all are synchronized to produce a beautiful symphony.  This is how you synchronize your body, mind, and spirit to your purpose. You are able to make life decisions from your core values and principles, rather than succumbing to a reactive, “firefighting” mode.

Being balanced also means catering to your own needs as well as those of your family and the society you live in.  You become an asset to the world you live in.

Extract from “Life Balance the Sufi Way” by Azim Jamal and Dr Nido Qubein