People are living systems, so they must get the right balance between consuming and creating. This is not just about food.
If a person consumes too many ideas without creating something, for example, they may begin to feel stodgy. If they consume masses of bad news about the environment, they must create something that improves the world, otherwise they will feel weighed down.
In order to live healthy lives, living systems must balance ‘getting things in’ with ‘getting things out’.
Let’s explore how to make this happen.
1) You can clarify the things you want to consume.
Start by considering what you want to ‘take-in’. One person said:
“I began by listing the physical and psychological things I want to consume.
“On the physical side, I want to eat good food, use renewable energy, spend time in the fresh air, etc.
“On the psychological side, I want to get stimulating ideas, watch exciting sport, read uplifting articles, work on energising projects and spend time with encouraging people.
“The hard part was figuring out how to do this in my daily life. Some things were easy to cut-out, such as watching trash on the television, but others took more thought.”
So what do you want to take into your mind, body and soul? Try completing the following sentence.
2) You can clarify the things you want to create.
What do you want to create or ‘give-out’? You may want to encourage other people, cook tasty food, build good relationships, write inspiring articles or whatever.
Creativity takes many forms – such as solving problems, producing something new or giving pleasure to other people. Great design, for instance, is simple, satisfying and successful. Sometimes you may simply get satisfaction from nurturing your garden, playing music or helping other people.
Try tackling the exercise on this theme. Describe what you want to create – or give to others – in your life and work. Try completing the following sentence.
3) You can get the right balance between consuming and creating.
People often know intuitively whether they have got the right balance in their lives between consuming and creating. Try answering the following questions.
On a scale 0 – 10, to what extent do I think I have got the right balance between consuming and creating? What are the specific areas where I think I need to improve the balance? What are the specific steps I can take to make this happen?
“I found the psychological side relatively straightforward,” said one person. “I find it relatively simple to get stimulating in-put and do creative work.
“On the physical side, the first step was to start with the daily essentials. For example, to switch our electricity account to green energy, which takes 10 minutes on web, and to shop locally. The next stages will be more difficult, but it is a challenge I want to tackle.”
Try tackling the exercise on this theme. Describe the specific things you can do to get the right balance between taking-in and giving-out. Taking this step can provide the foundation for sustainable growth, for both yourself and other people. Try completing the following sentence.
Posted on Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 at 4:53 pm in Strengths, The Strengths Blog | RSS feed
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