I read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell some time ago, but his message still resonates with me. The premise of the book is that little changes can produce big effects once it reaches a certain point.I can relate to The Tipping Point when it comes to sliding back into my old habit of doing too much. Before my heart attack, I would fill my day with work, family responsibilities, and lots of other things. I know I’m not alone in doing too much. Otherwise, Anne Wilson Schaef’s book Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much, and dozens of other books on addictive behaviors wouldn’t be so popular. I’ve spent the last year, changing my lifestyle to reduce my stress and to find peace. I think I’ve been pretty successful, but there are times that I wonder.What is the tipping point of doing too much? The point where we lose track of our new way of living and slide back into our old habits. Is it when we schedule so much in our day that we couldn’t possibly complete everything in a 24 hour period? Is it when we wake up early to exercise and try to exist on less sleep than we need? Or maybe it’s when we try to juggle other family responsibilities and push taking care of ourselves down to the bottom of the to do list?I know that there is a point in everyone’s life that puts him or her over the edge. Is it when your partner asks you to take the car in for service because he has an early morning meeting and the rattle under the hood is getting worse? Is it when you’ve finished your own errands and you finally have fifteen minutes of quiet time for a cup of tea and the doctor calls you to discuss the results of your recent tests? Stress is a part of our lives. Some of it can be good stress to help motivate you to get things done during the day, but the bad stress is what we need to watch. When we move away from being centered and peaceful, that’s when we need to pull ourselves back from the brink of no return.But in a society that prides itself on getting things done, how is one person going to make a difference? That’s where we go back to The Tipping Point. When we start behaving differently, then those around us start changing too. Can we actually cause our society to slow down?I’ve noticed some interesting changes in my own life. Once I started following a mostly vegetarian diet, exercising, and practicing yoga, I noticed my husband and friends doing the same.But even when we focus on a healthier lifestyle, we can still fall back into the old pattern of doing too much. Here’s a good example: I’ve slowed down the pace of my life by spending more time at home reading, writing and creating stained glass. The phone rings. A friend asks me to meet her for coffee. I agree because I haven’t seen her in a while and it would be nice to catch up. At least I’m sitting down. I get home, put my feet up, and get another call, this time from another friend who wants to go for a walk. I think, well I need to exercise, so I agree to meet her instead of listening to my body. I overdo the exercise and start gasping for breath up the hill. Pain starts radiating down my arm and into my chest. I’m back in the emergency room.The key to not doing too much is finding the right balance. The right amount of activities and the right amount of rest. And, there is only one way to find balance. Be aware of every moment of the day. Be present to what is happening. Know when to say no. Only then can we accomplish what we need to do in life without reaching the tipping point of doing too much.Have you reached your tipping point today?