is not about suppressing negative emotions about these events - that would be highly unhealthy - but rather about changing the way they are evaluated. In the future you will no longer sit behind the wheel in a traffic jam, angry and scolding, but use this opportunity to listen to the radio play you have started, to call your sister or to sing along loudly to your favourite songs.
Of course, there are many other ways to express inner balance. The closer we are to ourselves, i.e. more attentive to our needs and less guided by the outside world, the more relaxation we can experience. That includes "no." To learn to say, to re-evaluate circumstances and to find out what you really want regardless of external influences. In this book you will learn how inner balance in everyday life can look like and how you can find your centre! I hope you enjoy reading, learning and trying it out!
The inner balance
An advantage of inner balance is obvious: We experience our everyday life more relaxed and can deal better with stressful situations. We feel this in more optimism and a generally better mood in everyday life. By changing the assessment of stressful situations, our thoughts about these situations change, which in turn affects our emotional world. The result is that you are more emotionally stable and happier all around through inner balance.
Consequences of prolonged stress on the psychological level can be depression or burnout, for example. But it is not on the psychological level that something changes through inner stability, but also on the physical level. In stressful situations, or situations that we perceive as stress and that we evaluate as negative, our blood pressure rises and adrenaline is released. This may be advantageous in dangerous situations, as it allows us to better prepare for a possible escape or defense - our system is then on "alert". You can imagine that everyday physical processes come to a standstill, because the potential danger and survival of these is naturally in the foreground. Permanent stress is a considerable physical strain that can lead to various diseases of the cardiovascular system and the gastrointestinal tract.
Through inner balance you manage to be psychologically and physically healthier in the long run, to feel more happiness in everyday life and to concentrate better on your own needs. The perception of one's own needs is a step towards a stronger inner balance and in most cases this improves not only the relationship to ourselves, but also the relationship to our fellow human beings.
What are the advantages of inner balance?
- They feel more happiness in everyday life.
- You know your needs and can vouch for them.
- You have a healthier relationship with yourself and your fellow human beings.
- They are mentally and physically protected from stress-related illnesses.
- You're in a generally better mood.
- You will learn to change or re-evaluate situations in your favour.
These are just a few examples, of course, and you will probably discover many more individual advantages of inner balance in the course of this book and while learning inner balance.
Dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction is probably the opposite of inner balance. But why are we unhappy? For example, when our expectations of certain situations or people are not met or we cannot meet our own expectations. These unfulfilled expectations are the expression of an imbalance between the actual state and the desired state. How is this target state defined? Through our desires and ideas, which we in turn determine on a mental level. Both conscious and unconscious thought patterns play a role in shaping our expectations. Perhaps in a situation with unfulfilled expectations you perceive your thoughts less strongly than your dissatisfaction expressed through emotions. We are often unaware that we shape our emotions through our thoughts. But it's not that far-fetched, because a messed up meeting can cause different people to get very different ratings. Now for the positive news: We can shape our thoughts and thus also influence our emotions.
Applied to inner balance, this means that as soon as we provide for relaxed and balanced thoughts, this will be reflected in our emotions. Dissatisfaction is a momentary negative emotion that is given a place in our lives to varying degrees. By the way, this dissatisfaction is neither negative nor positive in itself, we only evaluate it negatively. How about, as a first step towards more inner balance, seeing this dissatisfaction as what it actually is: an indicator of a momentary imbalance.
In this way we have the opportunity to change our lives, for the better! This dissatisfaction is a great motivator to finally break down old structures and break new ground, to welcome personal development into one's own life. Let us now take a look at what arises in the event of long-term dissatisfaction: stress! From the outset, a distinction must be made between distress and eustress. Distress is negative stress and eustress is positive stress. How does this distinction arise? Through your assessment of the stress factor!
Stress and the physical consequences
Entertaining stress usually has no great physical consequences. However, it becomes critical when a stress factor is constantly present in everyday life over a long period of time. Of course, our handling of the stress factor is crucial and as soon as we are internally balanced, we can face various challenges that were previously assessed as negative stress factors in a completely different way. If we experience a stress situation that is classified as negative, we are usually under great pressure, which results in the release of the stress hormones cortisol, norepinephrine and adrenaline. These hormones increase our performance for a short moment and the physical processes that are not relevant for this are neglected. We consider this situation to be stressful and dangerous, our body reacts accordingly to this situation. In the early history of mankind, stress situations were above all those situations in which the actual survival was at stake. Today's stressful situations usually no longer have anything to do with the struggle for survival, but our body still reacts with an intuitive fight/escape reaction, i.e. the release of the well-tried stress hormones. So the longer a stressful situation lasts, the less chance there is of breaking down these stress hormones and we enter a chronic state of tension. No human survives long in panic mode or at peak performance level. On a physical level, a long-term state of tension can be expressed through exhaustion, chronic fatigue, irritable stomach, muscle cramps, irritable bowel syndrome, muscle tension, allergies, nervousness, grinding of teeth, nail chewing, circulatory problems, dizziness, heart disease and the like. The list of possible physical symptoms is long and can look quite different for you than for me.
So do something good for your health and ensure more inner balance in your everyday life. You will see that after a short time, thanks to a strengthened immune system, you are less susceptible to diseases, feel fitter and more vital all around, need less sleep and your digestion functions excellently. Some scientists attribute the reduction of inflammatory processes and cancer growth, for example, to the reduction of stress factors. Your physical long- term health should be a great motivator to provide more balance! By the way: stress typically leaves grim wrinkles on your face - so you will be able to see your inner balance!
Stress and the psychological consequences
But not only on the physical level long-term stress has consequences, but also on the mental level. Under constant strain we may feel helpless, determined by others, overwhelmed and listless. Some people react more and more irritated, are in a bad mood and can hardly concentrate anymore. In addition to poor concentration, creative blockages or forgetfulness can also occur. Sleep disorders, increased alcohol consumption, listlessness, sexual frustration, eating disorders or the inability to relax can also be consequences of prolonged stress situations. ADS, ADHD, burnout and anxiety disorders can also be secondary diseases due to prolonged stress situations. These are an alarm signal that the recovery phases after stress are not long enough. Thus the hormone level of the body cannot regulate itself and the maintenance measures of the body cannot begin. On the psychological level it means that the stress-inducing thoughts, which are usually based on fear, do not come to an end. On the one hand, overburdening due to the combination