Find Balance and Enjoy Your Life More
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ― Oscar Wilde
Life Balance is not easy to achieve. If you do anything to the extreme, your life is not in balance. If you live by the philosophy, “I want to be all I can, do all I can, and do all I can”, how do you balance your life? Life is indeed a bit of a balancing act which gets even more complex as you grow older and have more and more responsibilities. There never seem to be enough hours in the day to address everyday life issues, let alone try to do all the things you may want to do.
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” ― Helen Keller
I know only a few people that can honestly say they lead the ideal life, balanced, happy, with an equal mix of:
- Health
- Love
- Spiritual Fulfilment
- Helping Others
- Relationships
- Money
- Work
- Fun and Enjoyment
- Learning
The good news is many aspects of a balanced life overlap. Life balance is not science, it is an art. You cannot simply say that you will spend 11% of your time on each of the things on this life balance list. That is downright silly. You can learn at work and you can have enjoy yourself at work, you can help others when you are working, make money when you are working. You can help others you love, that you are in relationships with. Spiritual fulfillment, whatever that is in your personal life, can be attained through love, and health walks hand in hand with fun and feeling fulfilled. It can all be a bit confusing.
Bottom line is that if you are feeling like your life is out of balance, it probably is. If you are feeling unhappy, dissatisfied, or depressed, your life is probably not in balance. You are not alone. There are just not enough hours in the day to do everything you may want or need to do. So how do you make the most out of each day to bring your life into balance?
“Do anything, but let it produce joy.” ― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
Prioritize
Make a list of the people and activities that are important to you. Make time for your priorities. Keep the list to less than ten, otherwise it can become overwhelming because you need to make time for what is important to you and there are only so many hours in each day.
Use a Calendar Daily (Weekends Included)
You can use an online calendar, your mobile phone, a hard copy calendar, it doesn’t matter what type what matters is that you map out your day for each day of the week with your daily plans, and goals. I use the old Filofax system with paper and pen but I supplement it with Google Calendar because I can easily add recurring dates, print it out, etc. Do you have a calendar you use? If not, decide which one fits your style best.
Track Your Activities
You have put everything in your calendar that you want to do each day, did you do everything in your calendar, if not, what did you do instead? Use your calendar to do this.
Keep a Journal
This is only for you, you don’t need to be a great writer, you don’t even need to write much, just a few notes about your day and your feelings will do. You can combine this with your calendar – it’s easy, it’s just for you, and it doesn’t have to be complex or take a lot of time.
Take Time for Yourself
Make sure you have some alone time for yourself, whether it is going for a walk each day, writing in your diary, soaking in the bathtub. You need some alone time!
Get Some Exercise
You need to get those endorphins going, you need to keep fit. Get some decent exercise at least four times a week. You don’t have to join a gym or train for a marathon, you can simply go for regular walks, go for a jog, do Yoga, whatever gets your blood flowing.
Ask Your Loved Ones What is Important
You want to make time for your loved ones, what is important to them, how do they want to spend their free time, how do they want to spend their time with you?
Turn off the Television
The average American family watches four and a half (4.30) hours of television a day, the average free time on a weekday is about four hours if you are working a forty hour week – you do the math!
Get Involved
Whether you want to coach your kid’s soccer team, teach Sunday School, volunteer as a Big Sister or Big Brother, join an organization, whatever it is, get involved. There are thousands of ways you can get involved in activities you enjoy, that will allow you to help others, enjoy yourself, meet new people. Look at your priority list and choose an activity or organization that fits into your life.
Use Social Networks Wisely
If your only networking is online, stop it! Get a life. Your Facebook or other social network websites should be an extra, a fun thing for a short time each day, not your be all and end all. Do not use Facebook or other sites to air your negative thoughts or your dirty laundry, you will regret it. Think of your social network sites as a cocktail party that you drop in on for half an hour or so – have fun, but keep it in perspective.
Be Positive
Always try to be positive. Don’t think negatively about yourself or speak negatively of others. Don’t be hard on yourself if you make a mistake or don’t meet your objectives or reach your goals. Life is a process and there will be bad days and good days, maintain a positive attitude and when you are overwhelmed or find yourself thinking negative thoughts, use positive affirmations and know the sun will come out tomorrow.
Enjoy Your Life!
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
Sometimes we don’t take the time to do the things we really enjoy, it is easy to get caught up in the rat race we call work and life and simply go through the steps, doing all the mundane things that need to get done to simply survive while missing out on doing things that we truly enjoy.
Do you do things frequently that you enjoy in various areas of your life?
- Your Relationships
- Recreational Activities
- Your Work or Business
- Relaxation
- Food and Eating
- Clothes and Fashion
- Religious and Spiritual Activities
- Giving
- Receiving
- Your Home
Think of the small pleasures, a hot cup of coffee, sitting in your garden, chatting with a friend, cooking a meal, whatever things give you pleasure that you often take for granted. Your relationships, your work, your spiritual, cultural, and recreational activities and beliefs all are parts of the sum that defines who you are. Enjoying your life and living the life you want to lead is based on many factors, some of them you have complete control over and others, minimal or no control.
Take control of the things you can take control of and leave the others behind. There is incredible power in determining your own destiny from a perspective of strength – knowing what you want, what you can control and what you can’t.
“It is easy to live for others, everybody does. I call on you to live for yourself.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
What is your definition of success? Remember, you alone can define what success is for you. It has to come from your heart – it has to be based on your goals and values. Don’t accept someone else’s definition of success – create your own! Enjoying your life, achieving life balance is not a destination, it is a journey. Every day is an adventure. Every event offers its own risks and benefits.
The bottom line is that you and you alone know what happiness and success mean to you. I will probably say this again and again, but no one should be telling you what success is and no person besides yourself can truly be in control of your happiness. Your life – your choice. You need to take the reins, know what motivates and inspires you, and determine your own destiny.
SEEBEDO Your Life Balance
SEE your life as it is and as you want it to be. See what you are doing and how it is affecting your life.
BE aware of how you are spending your time and be consequent about what you are doing with your life.
DO the things that make you happy, that make your life fuller, and that help you toward achieving the life balance you want to achieve.