Balancing life will help you to improve your general well-being, mentally and emotionally. Try to find balance in your life as quickly as possible by understanding each of the elements of a balanced life.
As you learn how to balance your life, ensure that you are ready and determined to finish the quest with any of the tips for a balanced life that you will come across in this guide. You may need to stay away from certain activities (or people) for some time in order to be successful at this.
What really is a balanced life?
Balancing life involves having control over every part of your life without sacrificing one for the other. For example, not sacrificing your health for your work. Most people have poor balance life. This means that we need to give high priority to learn how to find balance in life.
Finding real balance
Even though some people term this as impossible, learning how to find balance in life is easy and straightforward. It is very dependent on understanding the elements of a balanced life and finding a balance between those elements.
Elements In Life
You will learn how to find balance in life as you take your time in making sure you don’t take either side of the elements too far. Simply put, in the process of finding balance in your life, you also need to maintain balance when following each of the steps or tips.
Inner Balance
- Mind: To find balance in your life you must strike a balance between the mind as a center of intellect and a place of rest.
- Heart: Balancing life comes with sharing and receiving affection.
- Health: This involves finding balance between eating healthily, drinking responsibly, exercising properly, and resting regularly.
Outer Balance
- Work: Our focus most times is the bigger picture, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. Therefore, we need to set goals towards the bigger picture (goal). Doing this makes you happy and content, as well as eradicates worry and anxiety. Now you see the need to find balance in your life.
- Family: Balancing life involves playing your role in the family. At the same time, create realistic boundaries.
- Social Activities: Find out how to find balance in life between socializing and having time for yourself.
- Fun: “All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy.” This is a good quote on how to find balance in life. Even in your busy schedules, try to create time for fun.
Tips on living a balanced life
If you feel pulled to one element than the other or you don’t seem to know how to balance your life, these tips on how to live a balanced life will give you alignment.
1. Acknowledgement
If you ever need to be sincere with yourself, the time is now! When you need to look into your life, focus on your mind and your feelings. Also, reflect on the relevant elements in your life and then look at the ones you are leaving out. You should try to aim at balancing life.
For instance, if you are not feeling satisfied with life, you can take some time off. This is not for vacation, but for thinking. Could it be that you are neglecting your family? Could it be that you give love, and you are not getting it back? Perhaps you do not have enough time for entertainment. Reflect on these things and you will surely have an answer that will guide you towards finding balance in your life.
2. Self-examination
There is no better way to prevent or solve the issue of going far to the side of the internal or external elements in life by examining yourself. By self-examination, you can determine if you are moving far left or far right and bring balance in-between.
Learn how to live a balanced life by carefully examining your actions and character, and then checking to see if you are behaving in a way that meets your core values. Of course, your values and goals are not away from the internal and external focus.
3. Self-reflection
Living a happy life hangs on how you regularly self-reflect. You can only solve certain issues by self-reflecting. Reflect on the previous times, where you were able to achieve a certain objective. Consider how you were able to control the anxieties, worries, fears, and pressure around the goal – and then relate it to the present. Reflecting on a disappointment too can also get you somewhere.
This is not to feel sorry, but to correct the mistakes. Ask yourself the questions below in order to have accurate answers that will help you forge ahead:
- Why did this happen?
- Why did this go in that direction?
- Where did I possibly go wrong?
4. Setting goals
We all have that big picture staring at us at the face. However, instead of focusing on the bigger picture, you can break it down into smaller and more specific goals.
By doing this, you will not feel overwhelmed and anxious. You will be contented and happy at each level.
In fact, you can break the goal down into milestones, create, and execute a plan to fulfill the milestone towards the bigger picture.
In between the milestones, you can create time for fun. So ask yourself some important questions. What is the bigger picture? What goals am I setting this today, this week, this month, or year towards the bigger picture?
5. Plan, plan, plan
How to live a balanced life through planning – earlier, we discussed that you need to set your goals. However, it is one thing to set a goal, and it is another thing to accomplish it. You need to create a plan to achieve your goals.
You can make a to-do list per day, weekly, or on a monthly basis to accomplish these goals. If a plan is not working, create another one.
“The definition of insanity is doing something repeatedly the same way and expects different results.”
-Albert Einstein
If your plan is not accomplishing anything, revisit the plan, and identify the missing link instead of worrying or feeling exhausted. The issue is not the goal, the issue is the plan, try to fix it and be happy.
6. Remove challenges
Fears, worries, anxieties, and doubts are spoilers to your plans. They can prevent you from having a plan—not to mention your goals. Find out how to find balance in life by eradicating these hindrances. To deal with this issue, you need to be able to first specify which one is rocking the boat.
Is it your fear, worry, anxiety, doubts, or any other thing? For fear and doubts, it could be that you need some sort of motivation or encouragement. Do things systematically in order to deal with worry and anxiety.
For example, you may want to start a small-scale business. Instead of trying to accomplish all your goals at once, take them one by one. To start a business, you need capital. Deal with that, and then move on to the next one.
7. Speak nicely to yourself
Always say good things to yourself. Avoid negativity. The whole essence of finding balance is to have a happy life. It starts from being positive. Be positive about your way of life, be content with your achievements, and aspire to do better.
You can create a balanced life for yourself by speaking positive things to yourself. As you continue to do this; you will feel confident, motivated, and encouraged. This is simply how to live a balanced life.
Positive things like I am going to get it done, I am successful, or things are getting better. As you continue to repeat these words you will feel confident, motivated, encouraged, and most importantly you will become those things you speak. This is simply how to live a balanced life.
8. Socialize
How to live a balanced life through socializing? Socializing is not just about having fun with friends or family, meeting old friends, or family members. No doubt, these are all good, but socializing offers more than this.
It can help in finding balance. Use these moments to share your burden with someone you trust. You can as well speak to them about your plans. Allow them to challenge your feelings.
However, do this intelligently. Only share your issues with people you trust and have the right words. Moreover, you can just speak with your spouse about it. Also, take time to celebrate those little accomplishments.
9. Create new habits
Certain wrong things have become habits in our lives. They affect our viewpoints on how to live a balanced life. We need to identify and destroy them because they will stop at nothing to ruin us.
For instance, procrastination, it can disrupt your plan, and life every day. It can prevent you from attaining your goals not to mention the big picture.
This has become a habitual pattern with some people. We have to make efforts to stop it. Also, deal with other habits denying you of having a balanced life.
10. Let loose
You don’t have wait to go on a vacation or go to a luxurious restaurant just to have a good time. You can incorporate it into your daily schedule.
Try to find ways to have fun in your workplace. Instead of taking a regular bath, you can decide to hit the pool or have a pleasurable bath in the Jacuzzi. Exercising can also be a fun activity for you depending on how you do it.
You can plan for a hike or hit the gym. You can likewise play table tennis, football, or golf. Even in your busy schedules, try to create time for fun. It helps alleviate stress, improve your mood, lower blood pressure, and improve your mental health.
Signs of a balanced life
The signs of a balanced life are many, some of those are listed below:
- You have your priorities all figured out
- You know the right time to say no to certain requests that you can’t fulfill
- You know how to stay balanced each day
- You know how to manage your energy throughout the day
- Working for a company that helps its employees to achieve work-life balance
- You are able to exercise regularly
- You have fun at least once a day
- You are focused at work and at home
The reasons for poor work/life balance
You may be surprised to find out about some of the points listed below. Still, it is important to know each one of them:
- When the cost of your expenses is so much in relation to your salary
- When your responsibilities at work are more than you can handle
- When your responsibilities at home (or away from the work environment) have increased
- When you work for longer hours than you are comfortable with
The elements of a balanced life
A balanced life definitely has an element of health. Exercise and a proper diet can help give you the energy needed to live and work every day. A balanced diet can help you stay in shape and maintain a healthy weight. Exercise keeps your body in shape. Exercise can work as stress relief.
Having fun and entertainment is also an important part of your life to balance. A balanced life also has lots of fun, entertainment and pleasure. Having fun can give you a sense of happiness and release from stressful events. Entertainment such as movies and TV shows can take your mind off your stress.
Finally, financial stability, emotional stability, and mental well-being are important for a balanced life.
Once one of these begins to be neglected it should be addressed and worked on, as they all contribute to our overall well being.
You might not have time to do everything you’d like, but at least you will have time to do what needs to be done, which is the essential thing.