What do you think is more important: feelings or thoughts? Meaning or action? Feelings or real objects? Agree that it would be strange to try to hierarchize these concepts. Let's think today about the various resources that exist in everyone's life, and how we can find, restore and increase them. All areas of our lives, all mental and physiological, social and spiritual processes are interconnected. And in order to feel daily satisfaction and joy, it is important for us to bring them into balance and harmony. Globally, we have only four areas of life from which we can receive energy. And here we are talking about both external resources and internal ones, that is, psychological. The first sphere is the BODY, a vital source of our pleasure. Yes, it is PLEASURE that is the value that we receive mainly here. If only because our senses are attached to the body, and we also experience emotions with the body. We feel ourselves as a body and are aware of our physiological needs, biological rhythms and cycles, and set up our work and rest schedule. Here are our sleep, nutrition, movement, sports, health level, body care, sexual desire; our posture, figure, gait; our voice, tears, laughter, touch. These are not only our physical sensations, but also how we perceive our own body, relate to our own health, appearance. If you feel little pleasure in your life, feel constant fatigue, anxiety, despondency - then this is a signal to explore your sphere of the body. Right now – am I comfortable or not, warm or cold? Maybe my neck is stiff and my back hurts from sitting for a long time - and I learned to ignore it a long time ago? Or am I hungry and tired? Am I chronically stressed and sleep deprived? And what I feel now is a signal of what, what need is hidden behind this? Do I even know how to relax? What about breathing? Do I walk a lot? Do I still have energy and time for my sex life? Do I invest in my appearance as my best work? Do I undergo regular medical examinations? Do I laugh often? After all, a sense of humor is one of the important signs of a mentally and physiologically healthy person. Nowadays people live in their body at 3-5%, this is enough to satisfy minimal physiological needs. But the body is not a mechanism, it cannot be exploited according to rules from other spheres, it is alive, it has needs and desires. And each of us has them individually. It is very important to study the requests of your body - and respond to them in a timely manner. The second area is ACTIVITY, this is our mental activity and socio-economic sphere. In it we study, work, build business contacts, raise children, do some housework, and care for older relatives. This also includes social and political activities, attributes of the material world: money, housing, social benefits, position in society. Here we develop some of our skills, analyze and make decisions, set goals, use logic, tactics and strategies, and engage in self-development. In general, it is our social source of resources for living with other people. And only here we can receive RECOGNITION and feel our USEFULNESS, SUCCESS in society. The values ​​of this sphere are productivity, activity, efficiency, expediency, order, law, finance. And it is here (and not in other areas!) that step-by-step planning and implementation of plans works well. On average, this area occupies 70% of the life of a modern person, our adult time. And if we do not regulate it, then we will face a real threat of turning into an ideal self-sufficient European machine - and losing resources from other areas. The third area is CONTACTS. These are relationships where there is no benefit, but there is intimacy: with wives and husbands, friends, children (when we are not raising them), parents (when they are not raising us), colleagues(when we are talking not about work, but about personal things). Here we are loved not for who we are - but simply for what we are. This is a spiritual sphere, but at the same time social - here we exchange feelings and emotions with other people. And the most powerful internal resource that we receive in such communication is the feeling of our VALUE, UNIQUENESS. There is a lot of spontaneity, focus on what is happening between us now, subjectivity and empathy are valued here. And here the laws from the sphere of activity do not work, here we cannot conduct a cause-and-effect analysis of relationships - here we simply feel whether they love us or not. It is important to understand that it is impossible to achieve intimacy with a person if you do not use your own feelings in communicating with him. That is why it is impossible to be in this area without sincerity, opening your inner world to others. That is why a very important component of this area is our contact with ourselves, emotions and feelings towards ourselves. After all, the nature of contact with yourself (What do I feel about myself?) largely determines the nature of contact with other people (What do I feel about the Other? What does the Other feel about me?). This is what the notorious phrase “start with yourself” is about. And finally, the fourth area is MEANINGS. This spiritual aspect concerns our values, ideas about the meaning of life, these are desires, fantasies and ideas, reflections on the past and future, these are our life ideals and priorities, hobbies, dreams, dreams in which we are free to imagine what has not yet happened - but it will be possible, and that which no longer exists - but could be. This is our personal philosophy, worldview, intuition, faith, strength of soul, ability to rethink life from a new point of view. In this area we are truly limitless, because everything can be taken away from a person - except the meanings. AND INNER FREEDOM to make personal decisions and follow your own path, as well as the freedom to choose your own limitations, that is, responsibility and self-discipline are the most important resources in this area. The core of our personality, our inner compass, begins from this area. We looked at 4 areas of life - and 4 ways of knowing your reality. Let's assume that each of us has one hundred units of vital energy. It is important to ensure that the amount of energy spent on each of the four areas is distributed approximately equally, that is, 20-30 points for each part. This will bring our personality system to a stable state - then we will be able to replenish our resources without extra effort. Such a state of balance is an adequate attitude to real life, when we are satisfied physiologically and psychologically. And when there is a bias in one direction or another (and almost all of us have it, until we begin to think and stop living “automatically”), the model collapses. And conflicts, disturbances and illnesses arise in those areas that we have neglected - or, conversely, have worked too hard and burned out. In therapy, we study the reality of a particular person, discover obstacles, look for opportunities to balance the 4 areas, activate underdeveloped areas and redistribute energy so as to harmonize life. The role of a psychotherapist can be very significant. It is to help a person become aware of his outdated concepts and behavior patterns and understand how they affect his well-being, which desires and actions in each area lead to replenishment of the resource, and which lead to its waste. And then we learn to consciously manage it. After all, awareness is already 70% of success. The golden rule of Positive Psychotherapy: if a person had enough resources to get to this point of the problem, then he definitely has the resources to get out of it. And therefore, each of us can find for ourselves and develop alternative strategies and abilities that help us cope with crises and unpleasant emotions more easily and quickly. PS If you want to understand more deeply how balanced your balance model is, or if you have any other the questions are all mine.