Time to Integrate All Areas of Your Life?

Feel like you are more focused on your career and forgetting about the other areas of your life? Or finding that you don’t have time to look after your self-care as you are focused on looking after other people’s needs? Then maybe it is time to integrate all areas of your life?

What is Integration?

There are many definitions of integration, including –

• “the action or process of combining two or more things in an effective way” ~ Cambridge English Dictionary
• “an act or instance of combining into an integral whole” and “the organisation of the constituent elements of the personality into a coordinated, harmonious whole” ~ Dictionary.com
• “coordination of mental processes into a normal effective personality or with the environment” ~ Merriam-Webster
• “organisation into a unified pattern, especially of different aspects of the personality into a hierarchical system of functions” ~ Collins English Dictionary

4 Inspirational Quotes Relating to Integration

Following are 4 inspirational quotes relating to integration –

1. “Wholeness is not achieved by cutting off a portion of one’s being, but by integration of the contraries.” ~ Carl Jung
2. “Without an integrated understanding of life, our individual and collective problems will only deepen and extend. The purpose of education isn’t to produce mere scholars, technicians and job hunters, but integrated men and women who are free of fear; for only between such human beings can there be enduring peace.” ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti
3. “Integration is a basic law of life; when we resist it, disintegration is the natural result, both inside and outside of us. Thus we come to the concept of harmony through integration.” ~ Norman Cousins
4. “Becoming integrated and whole is the spiritual path. The body is your vehicle. Your job is to learn about yourself from your experiences and change yourself. This is spiritual growth.” ~ Gary Zukav

Integrating All Areas of My Life

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was burnt out and stressed. I was focusing more on my career and less on other areas of life (and in some cases forgetting about them all together). This was having an impact on my relationships, my energy and also my health and movement. Subsequently, I decided to start looking at my life wholistically and consciously create my own definition of an intentional and whole-hearted life.

After doing a lot of work on myself and discovering what is important to me, I now divide my life in to 12 areas. Each year, I look at these areas wholistically to see what I have completed In relation to my intentions), where I am and how I am going in relation to the vision I have created for my life.

During this reflection process, I also identify ways to move towards connecting whole-heartedly with my own vision of life. As each area is connected to the other, I have found that focusing on one area can also benefit and impact on the other so I am flowing and living in harmony with life.

3 Ways to Start Integrating Your Life

Is it time to start integrating all areas of your life? If so, maybe the following  three ways can help you to start integrating your life –

1. Decide to Tell the Truth to Yourself

Telling the truth brings with it tremendous power and clarity. With clarity and power (and your courage and self-compassion), change starts to happen and you are empowered to start making different choices. If we don’t commit to telling the truth we can live in denial. A great acronym for Denial is –

“DENIAL – Don’t, Even, Notice, I, Am, Lying”

~ Unknown

2. Know What’s Important to You

Yes, this may sound obvious, however do you know what is important to you? Some of these areas to consider here would be what do you value, the important aspects of your life and also the legacy you want to leave.

3. Develop Systems

Have you noticed that you do similar tasks throughout your day, week, month, quarter or year? If so, then maybe it is time to develop some systems within your life.

“A system is a whole that consists of parts, each of which can affect its behaviour or its properties.” and “Systems behaviour is determined by the interaction of the parts, not the parts taken separately.” ~ Dr Russell Ackoff

Over to You…

I hope this post has given you some insight if it is time to integrate all areas of your life. If you have any questions, please write them below.

If you are ready to take yourself on the adventure of connecting whole-heartedly with your true self, why not join the Toolkit? A place where I share tools, inspiration and ideas to live a courageous and openhearted life.