The Five Areas Of Personal Development And Balance Part 6.

The final element we need to discuss in this series is the element of void. Void really has no traits of it’s own except for one, freedom. Void is the ability to adapt and use what means are necessary to get the results we are shooting for. Void is about a freedom that very few people ever begin to realize in their lives, and I hope that this will help open your eyes to the potential that is out there for you to realize freedom in all areas of your life for yourself.

Void is about freedom. I heard a great teacher use this example once. If you only have one option for any given situation, you are a robot. Machines and robots do one thing, and one thing only. This is not freedom. If you only have two options for any given situation then you have a dilema. This or that. If you have three or more options for any given situation you begin to approach freedom. Options, and having as many of them as possible, is what freedom is all about. Take food in our society for example. There is never an issue when it comes to food in america because we have so many options. Only when money is tight and we only have two things in our refrigerator and don’t want either of them do we feel limited. If you had your choice of absolutely anything right now, regardless of what it was, in any area of your life, would that not feel like true freedom? Learning to understand and apply the concepts of these different elements begins to give you options for dealing with anything in life as well as getting anything. That, is true freedom. Freedom is not given to us by laws or by another person, it is given to us by ourselves.

The ability to know which element is appropriate for any given situation to get the best results is crucial when it comes to applying these strategies. The better you get at shifting from one strategy to another the better the results you will begin to get in your life. This also applies to bringing these elements into ourselves and using those energies to get the results we want. The problem is that most people come from only one option. Take this for example. When most people get mad, they use one of four basic responses. They clam up and stand their ground. They will become completely appologetic and try to sooth the situation. They will attack what is being said relentlessly until you back down. Or they will withdraw and snap back with what they think is a logical response. Now these are all negative ways of dealing with anger or a stressful situation based on the four elements, but what if you were able to pick and choose the positive response from any one of the four elements. What if you could firmly hold your ground and with a clam, cool, collected tone look someone right in the eye and tell them that right now is not the time and it has to wait. Maybe you could listen very carefully to what is being presented looking for the weaknesses in the presentation and then attack those weaknesses. A fire response would be to instantly turn on the energy and let the person know that this very moment is not the moment they are going to win and if they want to continue then fine, but you recommend they let it be until another time. An appropriate wind response would be to show compassion for their side of the story. Listen closely and with complete understanding. When they have shifted toward a more positive emotional state, then you can carefully and very tactfully present your side of the story and discuss why they feel the way they do.

Learning to give yourself options opens up a world of opportunity. Just the four ways of responding above could open a whole new world for you when used in the right circumstances. There are times and people that each of the above responses are appropriate where another response would only make the matter worse. Learn to recognize these times and which one works best where, and you will begin to discover what real balance and freedom are. After all, a positive balance from a position of freedom and options is one of the most liberating places anyone can get to.