Life balance seems to be the hot topic that is on everyone’s mind these days. In our digitally driven world, we are expected to be available for work 24/7. But while it is commendable to be 100% committed to your work and excel in your career, when it starts to bleed into your personal life, it can have a negative effect on your physical and mental well-being.
Luckily more and more people believe that maintaining a healthy life balance is not only absolutely essential for our well-being and happiness, it can also be an enormous boost to our productivity and professional success. If we are well-balanced, we have a much greater ability to focus our energy and attention on achieving our goals, take productive actions and move forward towards success.
We all need time to relax and take a break so we can create space to breathe and think. It is important to set clear boundaries between our professional and personal lives, but that doesn’t mean we should build an insurmountable wall. Instead, find a way to connect and integrate the two in a healthy way.
So what can we do to stop stressing and start living a well-balanced life? Here are our TOP 10 tips to find balance in your life.
#1 Assess Your Life
Before we can change anything and work on living a balanced life, we first have to look at ourselves and assess our life as it is right now. Are you a workaholic? Do you feel physically exhausted? Do you have close relationships? Are you mentally exhausted? Do you lack a spiritual aspect? Answer those questions honestly and you will quickly realize if your life is balanced or if you need to restructure it.
#2 Set Goals in Every Area of Your Life
To achieve your ultimate goal of life balance, it is important to set realistic goals in all areas of your life. Consider your physical well-being, relationships, mental development, spiritual alignment, job/career and finances and set a goal for each of these areas. They will assist you to remember to live a life in balance.
#3 Take Care of Yourself
To accomplish anything you have to take care of yourself first. Make sure you eat properly, exercise and get plenty of rest, because you can’t burn a candle from both ends. We may be able to get away with it for a while, but this lifestyle catches up to the best of us and burnout is possible. Ideally you set aside time every single day to do something you enjoy. We wrote a blog article about self-care if you need some inspiration >Click here to read it
#4 Know Your Priorities
Living a balanced life doesn’t mean that we try to fit in every possible activity. Instead, examine your values and decide what is important to YOU. Once you set your priorities straight, set boundaries. Depending on what stage you are in your life, your focus and priorities will be different. You may be in the process of building a career or starting a family. Trying to do everything at once can be a recipe for disaster. On your path to a balanced life, it is important to know what you want.
#5 Expect the Unexpected
Stuff happens. We’ve all experienced something unexpected happen to us. Don’t let it throw you off your game, but rather learn to roll with the punches and be able to adjust your game plan. There is no point in stressing out about something that we have no control over. Accept that anything can happen and also be aware that there are times, when achieving balance may not be possible. For instance when a career or family crisis happens and needs your undivided attention immediately. In those situations do whatever needs to be done and when things calm down take the time to refocus.
#6 Maintain a Positive Attitude
A big part of achieving our goal of living a well-balanced life is learning how to deal with uncertainty, unforeseen events and adversity. So maintaining a positive attitude is key to be able to deal with challenges and obstacles. Set an intention every morning that you are going to make the best of this day. Learn to let things go rather than letting things get to you. Live in the moment and enjoy the moment.
#7 Seek Role Models
Actively seek out people in your life who successfully balance their lives and live happy and healthy. Observe them, talk to them, figure out what they are doing right to enjoy and experience life and emulate the part of their behavior that works for you to help you achieve your own goals. Remember, everybody is different and has a different take on what a balanced life is, so choose what’s right for you and don’t just blindly adopt someone else’s life balance. When it comes to living a balanced life, one size doesn’t fit all.
#8 Take Risks
Recreating our life and achieving balance is essential for our health, happiness and overall well-being, but of course it can be a scary process. Know that it is worth the risk. Not only will we enhance our lives tremendously, but we will feel more energy and expand our awareness of what life is all about. Are you willing to take a risk and reach for the stars?
#9 Unplug
We live in a digital world, where it is expected to be available 24/7. However, it is important to turn the outside world off from time to time to create space to recover from our daily stresses. Unplugging gives us the time to unwind and let thoughts and idea come to the surface. If we are always connected, we suppress important things that want to come up. So give yourself the time to disconnect and unplug every day, maybe meditate for 10 minutes in the morning or go for a walk to clear your head after work. The important thing is to power down all your electronic devices for a while every single day.
#10 Have a ‘Me’ Party
Celebrate yourself and do something you enjoy that focuses entirely on yourself. It’s actually a lot easier than you think… Read a book, listen to music, go to a concert or the movies, go work out, take a class, do some charity work. Make sure you take the time to unwind and just focus on yourself at least once a week. Your friends, family and co-workers will appreciate your renewed focus and lower stress levels.
If one aspect of our life demands energy disproportionately, we have to shortchange another. That throws off our balance and we can’t move forward until we reestablish the balance. We have to put everything in perspective and align different areas of our life, so that we have ample energy available for all of them. It is important to keep in mind that one person’s idea of a balanced life may not remotely look like anything what a balanced life should look like from another person’s perspective. Find the mix that works best for you, because a balanced life is essential for our peace of mind and living well.
TO TRULY ACHIEVE HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS, YOU MUST LIVE YOUR LIFE IN BALANCE
Joschi & Monika
#BoldNaked