When you hear the phrase “life balance”, what comes to mind? Does it seem like something that is attainable? Do you have life balance? Do you wish you could have even just one day (or maybe even 1 hour) of balance?
We’re so busy in our culture. We seem to always be crowding in just one more thing. But instead of accomplishing anything, we often create big gaps across the various categories of our lives. Our to-do lists can be never-ending.
If you can relate to that, what’s the cost of living that way?
- Do you really get everything done that you need to do?
- Do you have peace of mind? Or do you feel stress and pressure?
- Do you have time for the important people in your life? Or do you feel like you’re always trying to juggle and someone is left out?
Do you feel like you’re in your own 3-ring-circus (with you being all 3 acts)? You’re constantly juggling to make up for the things you were not able to do before…. trying to spend time with the people you weren’t able to spend time with…but in the process, you create a new gap that will require more juggling later….It’s a never-ending cycle!
When is the last time you had time for family, friends, your career, and even yourself? Have you ever had that kind of balance? What would it do for you if you did? Do you have down-time? Do you remember how to relax?
If you were to envision a day or week that was balanced, what would that look like?
- What would you be doing?
- How would you be feeling?
- What benefits would you notice?
- What would be different from now?
- What would you not be doing?
You can attain that kind of life! It may not be instantaneous, as we often have to deal with some ongoing consequences of our previous choices for a while, but you can make the intentional decision today to balance your life!
Today can be the first day of your new balanced life!
What would you need to do to make that happen? What one thing would make the biggest impact? Start there.
- Maybe it’s saying no to something or giving yourself permission to change your standards or expectations.
- Maybe it’s as simple as writing out a list and prioritizing your “must do’s”. That alone can give us peace of mind that we accomplished our main priority for the day.
If you were to take the various categories of your life and give each of them a rating of 1-10, with 1 being completely dissatisfied and 10 being completely satisfied, how would you rate them? Here’s a list to get started:
- personal life
- spiritual growth
- mental/emotional health
- physical health
- marriage/romantic relationship
- home life (immediate family)
- extended family (relatives and in-laws)
- friends / social life
- financial stability
- lifestyle (busyness / organization / simplicity)
- recreation / relaxation / hobbies
- career / employment
- church / religious life
Look at how you rated each of them. It gives you an idea of how balanced your life is. Which areas stand out as being lowest? That’s a great indication of an area to start with. Increasing satisfaction in those areas can help you to feel more fulfilled and balanced.
So what will you do today to begin your journey to life balance? It’s your choice!
