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Lifestyle Planning and Management

Dr. Sushil Kansal, a very learned, experienced and renowned trainer and Head of English Department, SD College, Ambala Cantt delivered an interesting, lucid and informative talk on "LifeStyle Planning and Management" during one of the meetings at Rotary Club, Ambala Cantt. It goes as follows:

Human Progress is rapid and dramatic advances have taken place, which enables us to live at a fast pace where most things can take place or be arranged within a very short space of time. Such progress is beneficial and we are provided with a wide range of choices and opportunities every day. We can cram a lot into a short space of time, but this can lead to problems and ultimately we feel that there is insufficient time in the day to do everything that is on offer to us.

Our basic needs often take a back seat in the headlong pursuit into the maelstrom of modern life. The foundation stones of success are taken for granted and we fail to give them the time they deserve and require. In the short term, this is acceptable, but prolonged neglect can seriously affect our performance as we become ill, tired, de-motivated, depressed and quite simply burn out.

Lifestyle planning provides an opportunity to reflect upon the foundation stones of successful living and suggests methods, structures and options on how to ensure that they are given high priority that is required and are managed correctly. To manage and plan your lifestyle, you need to improve yourself in the following areas:

- Health Management
- Art of saying 'NO' without hurting
- Organizing Information
- Learning to de-clutter
- Home and Office Management
- Rising Children
- Understanding the effects of Smoking, Alcohol and other "Pick-me-ups"
- Understanding the roles of "Put-me-downs"
- Ventilation of your emotions
- Sleep
- Cultivating Hobbies

The balance of one's lifestyle is important not only because it ensures that you do the things that you want to do but also because it ensures that you are more successful in every other aspect. The end result is improved performance not only in business but also in the career of life.

If one area is neglected in the short term because of pressures and the usual necessities of life there is no great problem. If, however, one area is neglected in the headlong pursuit of the other then all will end in ultimate failure. How many people do you know that perform better when they have marital problems or who resent staying late at work because they were due to be out with friends for the evening?

The benefits are not short term - they are for the future and they need to be planned for, otherwise you will be carried along with the flow doing what everyone else does. There are very few people who would wish to have "He worked long hours" on their tombstone!

For those of you that think, "That's all very well in theory but how can it possibly be done in practice?" the answer is very simple. You can take control of your own future. Think of lifestyle planning as a product and implement it in the same way that you would for any other product: it is a product that will improve the bottom line.

We need a degree of pressure to motivate us to carry out our work and achieve success. It is only when the amount of pressure exceeds our ability, or perceived ability to cope, that we start to have problems. We might call this 'PRESSURE OVERLOAD'. Pressure overload can manifest itself many ways both physical and psychological. In the first instance, one must be able to recognize the symptoms of pressure overload and to do this we have to be extremely honest and avoid the macho approach: if it hurts - STOP

Ask yourself the question: "When did you last do something which you enjoyed and did it just because it was enjoyable?"

Because of the pace of modern life we often forget we have a right to enjoy ourselves, we make excuses that allow us to have a good time. We have a myriad of demands upon our time and we always put ourselves second. This can lead to resentment and a drop of enthusiasm to carry out tasks. It is imperative to give yourself time and develop personal interests in the same way as you would develop projects towards targets for other parties.

Initially changes in your lifestyle will be problematic and the benefits may not seem to be worth the effort. Lifestyle planning is about long-term effectiveness and success, the strategic view. Stick to your action plan, implement your changes and review their effectiveness.

Time taken to write this post: 45 minutes

posted by AK-84 @ 12:14 AM