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Enjoying the Balanced Life in Five Easy Steps

Guest post by: Terri Levine

Article Overview: What is a balanced life? Isn't it all in the mind? Whether you believe your life is balanced or not, you need to deal with the reality and here is where you start.

Enjoying the Balanced Life in Five Easy Steps

What is a balanced life? A balanced life is not about better time management. Time management techniques are only tools to enhance a balanced life. Think about it. Isn't a balanced life a state of mind as well as a state of being?

What is too much work and too little leisure to one person, is not enough work and ample leisure for another. We all have different levels of tolerance - what stresses one person is water off a duck's back to another. So given this, how do each of us in our individual way, enjoy a truly balanced life?

Here are five steps to help you:

1. Identify the imbalances in your life.

Be honest with yourself and answer these 2 questions:

 What 5 things mean the most to you in your life?

 What 5 things consume most of your time?

Now compare your two lists. If your life is truly balanced, the lists will match. If they don't, then you have to look at what you can start doing or stop doing so that your two lists will balance out and be in alignment. Then don't just stare at your list - take action.

2. Take exceptionally good care of yourself.

How much use will you be to your business, your family, your friends or your community if you burn yourself out? If you are an A type personality or just somebody who believes everything does hinge on them, then if you really want to be the one everyone can rely on, what will happen if you get sick? You must take care of yourself so you can be there for all the things that are important to you. I can hear the groans now but you know this makes sense.

Right now schedule in time to do things that you enjoy doing - playing squash with a friend, going to the movies, taking a long walk with the dog, reading a book or going to the gym.

Look for all the opportunities where you can indulge yourself and replenish your energy and enthusiasm. Take a 20 min cat nap. Listen to your favorite music to/from work. Meet up with a friend for lunch.

The important thing is you find time in your busy day for yourself - you need "me time". Word of warning - if feelings of "I should" arise, then re-think your plan. Once you start thinking, I "should" go for that long walk or "I should" go to the gym, it ceases being fun and becomes another chore. The idea of "me time" and taking care of yourself is to do things you really enjoy.

3. Eliminate Tolerations in your Life.

What are you putting up with at home and at work? We all tolerate somethings and some of us tolerate more than others. Make a list of all the things you tolerate that actually drive you crazy or cause you stress and one by one, start taking steps to eliminate each one. Those that cannot be eliminated, what other actions can you take to make them less annoying or bothersome?

4. Set boundaries.

People need to know where your boundaries are so they don't step over the line. They need to know what you find unacceptable just as you need to know what not to do to or near them that oversteps their boundaries. In line with setting your boundaries, learn to say "No". No is another boundary and very effective at warding off those who would take advantage of you or just give you too much work. Think about the list of tolerances you wrote - what boundaries can you set up for each of those to avoid them reoccurring?

5. Slow Down.

If you are like most modern day people, you rush around from one thing to another, juggling, family, career, etc. Do you suffer road rage? Are you more and more impatient? Do you over commit yourself and then find you have to rush even more to accomplish it? Do you walk quickly everywhere as though there was an emergency awaiting your attention? Do you snap at people and regret it later? If any of this sounds familiar, you need to slow down!

Look at the triggers in your life that fire you up and now think of ways you can eliminate that trigger or at least manage it in healthier ways. Do this with all the triggers in your life.

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Article Tags: balance, work life balance



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