Tipping the Scales - Finding Equilibrium in Your Life

Confucius in his teachings stated,  “Equilibrium is the great root from which grow all the human actings in the world, and this harmony is the universal path which they all should pursue.”

Stress levels are ever increasing around the world, and some individuals in Asia's booming economies are feeling the greatest pressure.  In a survey of 30 countries done in 2006, Taiwan topped the league table to report rising stress levels amongst business leaders.  China came second with the Philippines third. Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia filled the fifth, sixth and seventh spots.  The only country among the top six, which was not Asian interestingly enough, was Botswana in fourth place.  Keeping up with fast growth or combating recession are both stressful but it seems that Asians are under particular strain as businesses continue to show phenomenal growth.  One needs to identify some of the modern day stressors and develop skills to deal with them to maintain equilibrium in this rapidly changing world.  The most important thing to realize is that the majority of these stressors are here to stay and are not going away; it is about learning how to deal with them, building the resilience and developing sustainable lifestyle habits to re-energize and to make the difference.  It’s all about the balance, tipping the scales back to where they belong and finding the best solution for you, your family, friends and colleagues.

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Today I received an e-mail from one of my colleagues that is being circulated through the expatriate community here in Shanghai and has now hit our company as well. Strange that it has taken so long to get here as it has been circulating globally since 1999, but then given the way some things sometimes happen here this is not completely surprising!! The presentation tells one how to practice a particular coughing technique if you are having an unwitnessed heart attack.

I am sure that the individuals who send it on do so with good intention, but they should be alerted to its authenticity merely by the fact that this is such an amateur power point presentation that even I would be embarrassed to send it on if I had produced something similar. Anyway the beating heart could be used on a Valentine’s Day Card with good effect!!

It also refers to some poor hospital “Journal Article” which did not look like a valid scientific reference to me, so I googled it and found the following information on the Rochester General Hospital website alluding to the e-mail.

Elsewhere on the internet, there is reference to some of the information being published by the Mended Hearts, a support group for heart disease sufferers and their families and they have since disavowed it and have published something to this effect on their website as well.

Needless to say most people would have no problem here with the coughing technique suggested as you would be doing that without intention from the pollution here in Shanghai. Also should not be a problem to do it as described with gusto “deep and prolonged as when producing sputum” - this is part of the normal daily habits of many people living in the city!!

On a more serious note, if you have a problem let common sense prevail and get the right advice from a reliable source. Too often people get caught up in silly advice that should obviously lead one to contemplate this with serious suspicion!